


Shadow House 2: The Reckoning

by Fire_Bear



Series: Shadows [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen, Horror, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Minor Character Death, Supernatural Elements, Supernatural violence, Violence, horror movie cliches, things which give the story away so I'm not tagging them so sorry, unless y'know people ask me to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-19 05:09:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8191418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fire_Bear/pseuds/Fire_Bear
Summary: Arthur has moved on with his life since the events of Shadow House - he's enrolled in a new university in Scotland, has two new best friends and is getting on well with his studies. Everything is turned on its head, however, when Alfred and Francis suddenly appear - they need Arthur's help. They've found another house...





	1. Calm

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to Shadow House. You can go read that first, if you'd like, or you can just read this - I've explained this as if people haven't read the other one with very brief mentions of what happened.

_The young man watched as the police officer crouched down to the girl's level. "Your name is Sen, yes?" The teenager nodded though she kept her hands covering her face, hiding her tears. "Could you tell me what happened?"_

_There was a brief period where the only sound was her quiet sobs and the background chatter of emergency personnel. Then, slowly, she took her hands away from her face, taking several shuddering breaths. When she was ready, she said, "We-We only did i-it for a d-dare..."_

_"Went into the house?" the police officer confirmed._

_"Yes..." Sen seemed reluctant to continue but, when she saw the uniform, she shuddered and did so. "There were monsters. Things that came out of the shadows. They k-killed_ everyone _. I... I was the only one..." She trailed off, trembling as she hugged herself, eyes wide as she saw the horrors no-one else had._

_"I have seen the bodies," the police officer said, trying to be gentle. "I know whoever did this is much more a monster than the old tales we all know. Perhaps you can describe what they looked like?"_

_"No, no!" cried the girl. "You don't understand! They were actual monsters! Ghosts! Something supernatural-!" Sen broke off, clearly too upset to continue and the young man could see she seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown._

_Since he had found her, he felt somewhat responsible for the girl and stepped forward. "I think she needs to rest, Officer," he said, firmly yet respectfully. "Sen-chan may be in shock."_

_At first, the officer seemed reluctant. Then he nodded. "Yes. I shall see if her parents are on the way."_

_The young man was left with the teenager who rocked back and forth, wailing quietly. Realising his comfort would be unwanted, he moved along the hedge to the opening where he could see the large house beyond. He looked up at it: for some reason, it gave him a sense of foreboding._

_It was clear, even to him, that Sen was telling the truth about the monsters..._

* * *

Arthur sipped at his Rose Grey tea, completely at peace with the world. He had no assignments due for another few months and had prepared sufficiently for his online test later in the week. Since he had completed much of his university work, he had decided to come to the City Centre to treat himself. A flash of guilt shot through him as he remembered the several bags lying between his chair and the wall, most of them filled with books.

His stomach grumbled before he could fall into a spiral of guilt and fear. Clicking his tongue, he set his cup down on the saucer and checked his watch. Where on Earth were they? He'd agreed to meet them here ten minutes ago. Had they gotten distracted again? Arthur hoped not. He couldn't keep the table here indefinitely.

A waitress appeared at his elbow at that point. "Are you ready to order?" she asked, smiling brightly. Arthur mused that she must enjoy her work: it must be nice to work in a café with so much choice in tea.

"I am," Arthur said. "My friends, sadly, are not. I've no idea where they've got to."

"Oliver!" cried a voice from the door.

Relieved, Arthur turned towards the voice with an unamused expression. Just entering the café were his two best friends. The pale-haired Lukas, ran his eyes over the place before spotting the small cupcakes in the counter by the door. Fixated, he stared as, beside him, the rowdier Vladimir grinned and waved at Arthur, his dark hair bobbing as he moved as energetically as possible. Arthur rolled his eyes and waited for them to come over.

"Sorry, Olly!" Vladimir declared as he sat across from Arthur. "We went to the wrong one."

"The one on Byres Road is closed," Arthur told them, amused to think of them standing outside the empty café.

"There's another one near that statue with the cone," Lukas told him. "We were sitting there for ages till we realised that you might be at this one."

"I sent you a text to tell you I was already here," Arthur said, exasperatedly.

"Sorry," Vladimir repeated. "I think my phone's broken – I didn't get that till we were halfway here..."

Sighing, Arthur shook his head. "Come on," he said, handing over his menu. "We'd better order before we get kicked out."

"You've not been here _that_ long," Vladimir protested. Nevertheless, he bent his head over the menu, exclaiming whenever something caught his eye. Lukas made acknowledging noises every so often but otherwise kept silent, staring at one particular item.

Arthur watched them fondly, glad they were his friends. However, a sharp stab of guilt had him reaching for his teacup so he could hide his worried frown. He was lying to his two best friends every day, continuously. For one, they both thought his name was Oliver Jackson. Neither of them knew his past; neither of them knew his connection to the famous case in America dubbed the Shadow Killings.

Over a year ago, Arthur had gone on a road trip across America with his friends. When they had broke down, the group had taken refuge in an abandoned house. There, they had been tormented by unknown, supernatural assailants. Almost all of them had died but Arthur had escaped with those still alive. He had left that place with the knowledge of an earlier incident he had been involved in where exactly the same thing had occurred when he was a child.

Running from the disbelieving American police and his surviving friends, Arthur had made his way along country roads till he had found a town. Glad he had been given a change of clothes in the ambulance, Arthur had used what money he had on him to get a bus back to his university. Once there, he had contacted his parents, gotten a plane ticket, hastily packed and flew home, pulling out of the course for 'personal reasons' via e-mail. Somehow, he had never been stopped nor had he been contacted by the police – a small mercy.

He told his parents that a serial killer had killed his friends instead of the reality, knowing they wouldn't believe him and not wanting to undergo therapy or hypnosis again. They were merely relieved that he had survived and immediately welcomed him home. Up until the New Year, Arthur moped, nightmares plaguing him. Then, while his family were making New Year's resolutions, he decided that he wanted to go back to university, to work, to _do_ something instead of wallowing in his misery.

However, his mother was scared to lose him, unwilling to let him enrol in a university in case the killer found him again. There were multiple discussions while Arthur tried to find a university in Britain, unwilling to go elsewhere in case he found another fatal house. Finally, his cousin spoke up, encouraging Arthur to come to Glasgow, citing that he would keep an eye on him. For a while, his mother was still against the idea. Then his father suggested a fake name, using his connections at the local police station to put Arthur into a sort of witness protection scheme.

They'd let Arthur choose his name: Oliver Jackson.

Glasgow University was where he had enrolled, his parents forking out more money for him to get a flat in the West End. His cousin lived in the East End but worked in a pub in the City Centre so they met up frequently. Arthur had been relieved to leave England and his fussing parents behind but had soon become nervous about making friends and interacting with people his own age.

Luke and Vlad were a godsend.

He'd met them at an event in the Queen Margaret Union. It was supposed to be mainly for foreign students to introduce themselves and make friends. Since Arthur came from England, he decided to go. While lurking at the sides, he ended up bumping into Lukas who was also shyly watching the proceedings. After introducing himself ( _Oliver, remember Oliver_ ), Arthur managed to have a civil conversation. He may not have continued his friendship with him as they weren't in the same course and he was too reluctant to ask for contact details. It was lucky that Vlad spotted them and exuberantly introduced himself.

For some reason, the three of them felt drawn to each other. They had soon become the best of friends and, though he sometimes remembered the two friends he had left behind in America, he had fun. His academic career was going swimmingly. It really felt like he had left the nightmares behind.

He hoped it never happened again.

"Olly!"

Jerking from his thoughts, Arthur almost spilled his tea and set it down. "Eh?" he said, looking around. The waitress from before was standing beside their table, notebook out and pen in hand. She seemed rather amused as she watched Luke and Vlad frowning at him.

"I thought you wanted to order something?" Vlad said, pointedly, grin soon returning to his face.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur turned to the waitress and gave her his order. Then he turned to his friends. "We'd be eating by now if you hadn't made a mess of things."

"Not our fault!" sang Vlad, grin widening.

"You _could_ have put the address," Lukas added, mildly, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry," Arthur replied, waving his hand dismissively. "Now, let me show you what I bought today..."

* * *

After their lunch, they decided to do some more shopping. Both Lukas and Vladimir insisted on buying something Scottish to send home to their younger brothers, despite them having sent something every month since they'd reached Glasgow. Arthur hadn't bothered – Peter got enough Scottish things every birthday and Christmas as James tried to convince his cousin that Scotland was better than England.

They bought some things from Forbidden Planet and even went into a few clothes shops since Vlad insisted on buying new jeans. Apparently, his had too many holes. Their baggage increased as they ended up buying Lego as well, for Lukas's 'projects'. Arthur declared at one point that he should never go shopping with either of them ever again. Vlad promptly dragged him into Hamleys and Arthur parted with more money.

It was late afternoon when Lukas suggested returning to the West End and dropping off the bags they had before they did anything else. Arthur readily agreed. Agreeing to meet up outside of Lukas and Vladimir's student halls, Arthur went home. There, he found that he had a couple of messages on the phone. He considered listening to them but decided that he didn't have time for that: Vlad had been talking about going to the Kelvingrove Museum again so he would have to hurry if they were to get there before it closed.

Indeed, once they'd met up, they made their way to the museum, Vlad grinning all the while. "We should go to the art section this time," Lukas said as they made their way up the stairs of the large building.

Vlad grimaced. "But I was hoping to go to this temporary exhibit they've got – it's all about ghost stories in Scotland!"

Arthur couldn't repress a shudder, thankful he was behind the other two. He had a bad feeling that something would go wrong if they went there. Quickly, he said, "Luke is right; we never go to the art bits – you always drag us to the 'special exhibits'."

"You won't be complaining in a few months," said Vlad with a grin. "There's a Doctor Who one."

His worries instantly dispersed by his excitement, Arthur grinned back. "Okay, I guess these exhibits are a good thing."

"Da!"

"Urgh," said Lukas and followed them inside.

Once they had bought their tickets (Arthur and Lukas frowning at Vladimir all the while), they entered the darkened room. It had been split into several halls in a large U shape. They wandered around it and, as they did, Arthur started to relax. After all, what could possibly go wrong here? Hundreds of people must have seen this exhibit already and nothing had happened.

However, when they reached the more recent ghost stories, Arthur began to feel uneasy once again. Somehow, he thought, this was going _too_ well. He didn't understand why he felt that way till they reached a bit called "Scottish Ghost-Hunters Around the World". There, they found something about a house in America which had been investigated after the murders of several college students and the claims of the survivors.

Arthur felt faint when he saw the pictures.

In a huge, blown-up picture, was the house he had escaped.

He froze, sure he had been transported back in time, sure he was in a nightmare once again. But, no, it was there, Vlad and Lukas moving in his peripheral vision, drawing closer to it. Taking a deep breath, Arthur turned from the picture, determined to get away from it. This would be the last time he looked at that dreaded house.

"Oh!" cried Vladimir from behind him. "That house looks familiar!"

Startled, Arthur spun to look at him, hoping he was looking at another picture. No such luck: both Vladimir and Lukas were staring at the picture, both of them frowning as if in concentration. And was that a touch of fear...? Arthur shifted closer to them, trying not to look at it. "What do you mean?" he asked, breathlessly.

"It's..." began Lukas, his frown deepening. "Like a dream of a memory of a dream... It's not quite right."

"Da. Similar but not." Vladimir shuddered. "It makes me think of the creepy clearing in the woods near my house."

Distracted from his horrid memories, Arthur tilted his head. "What creepy clearing?"

"Oh, it was this part of the woods which, 'cause of the positions of the trees and this little hill, was almost always in a state of dusk. People used to say vampires or evil ghosts or something lived there. I went there once – never again." Vladimir shuddered again and, without warning, threw his arms around Arthur with a distressed wail.

"Tsk! Get o-"

"It was trolls."

Both Vladimir and Arthur turned to blink at Lukas who was still staring at the picture. Arthur successfully suppressed a shudder as he caught sight of it; he wasn't so successful in prising Vlad from him. "Trolls?" he grunted, shoving at Vlad's chest.

"Ja. I went caving with my father all the time. When I was little, he decided to take me to a cave supposed to belong to a troll. We got separated then and I found myself in a dark cave. My torch blinked on and off so much that it made the stalagmites look like hunched trolls. I got out, though, before any could eat me." Then Lukas blinked and shook himself, a small smile gracing his face. "I don't know where _that_ came from."

There was a short silence between them. Vlad even pulled away slowly, face scrunched up as if he was remembering something. "But it wasn't..." he murmured but stopped himself.

Arthur looked between them and then to the house. Whatever the house was, it obviously had a horrible effect on people. "Come on," he said to them. "Other people want to look and we're holding them up."

* * *

The gift shop was right outside when they left the room and both Vlad and Luke were immediately interested. Arthur could only sigh and wait outside the small area, hoping they wouldn't take too long. He watched them fuss over a gruesome keyring and pine after an expensive-looking fake skull complete with quills and ink. Arthur had to grin: though his experience with the supernatural hadn't been all that happy, his friendship with Vladimir and Lukas had rekindled an interest in the safer practices. For instance, Arthur now had a Tarot deck somewhere. Thankfully, it never seemed to give him readings which hinted at the return of those shadowy creatures.

As he waited, Arthur's thoughts turned to what was in the room just behind him. He would have never expected it to follow him here. And he had never expected to see Alfred and Francis's names on the wall. His had been omitted for some reason and he wondered why that was. Surely Alfred and Francis would have told those ghost hunters?

Remembering the image of the house, Arthur shuddered, memories rising unbidden in his mind. Suddenly, he felt something sweep past him and a whisper: " _Artie..._ " He almost whipped towards the sound but he quickly and firmly told himself that he was imagining things. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he tried to quell his trembling before someone noticed.

Then, from across the room, he heard something he wasn't sure he was imagining. Another voice, this one much more familiar, open and warm and excited. "Look!" it was saying excitedly. "They've got it on an apron!"

Before Arthur could recover, he heard another familiar voice, this one clearly exasperated. "Why are you getting excited? It's just a house – you know that."

Heart hammering, Arthur looked around for Vlad and Luke, desperate to leave now. Was he imagining things? Was something else to blame? Thankfully, he spotted his friends at the till, both of them discussing their purchases. He didn't need to look in the direction the voices were coming from. Just in case, though, he moved towards his friends.

"If you're quick," he said, trying not to sound hasty, "we can go up to the art. For Luke's sake, I mean."

"Aw, but, _Olly_!" Vladimir whined, rather loudly. "I want to see the fossils!"

"Not again," groaned Lukas, rolling his eyes. He was smiling, though and, under normal circumstances, Arthur would reply in kind.

Instead, Arthur shrugged. "Whatever you want. Let's just go."

Lukas and Vladimir looked at each other, clearly puzzled by his hurry. But they grabbed their paper bags and followed Arthur as he headed for the stairs. He hadn't even reached them when a voice called out from behind them.

"Artie! I mean – Arthur!"

Stilling, Arthur debated whether he could get away with continuing onwards. However, his curiosity, his need to know, got the better of him and he glanced over his shoulder before slowly turning to stare at who had shouted. His eyes slowly widened in horror as he realised this really wasn't a nightmare and they were really standing there.

Both Alfred and Francis looked delighted and relieved to have found him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The café they're in exists, by the way, and is called [Cup](http://cuptearooms.co.uk/). It started off in Byres Road in Glasgow then opened another one in Renfield Street and then a third one in the Merchant City. I didn't realise the one in Byres Road is closed till I was writing this and realised that I couldn't set this there since this is supposed to occur in this coming March...
> 
> The Kelvingrove Museum is described using vague memories. I haven't been for a while - I think the last time I went was for a temporary AC/DC exhibition. I've also been to a Doctor Who one there, too. No idea if there's going to be one next year but, y'know, artistic liberties. It was downstairs and, once you left, there was a wee gift shop which sold stuff related to that exhibition plus stuff about Scotland as well.
> 
> I just set this in Glasgow cause I know the place quite well. ^^"


	2. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good with arguments and this was so hard to write. ^^" I'm sorry if it's horrible...
> 
> But, I have to say, it's been complicated probably cause I realised having an argument in a museum or in the street was not a good idea... ^^"

Alfred broke the silence between them. "Arthur!" he cried, flinging himself at the younger man, arms wrapping around Arthur's waist. "Man, I thought we'd never find ya!"

"Arthur," sighed Francis, obviously relieved. He stepped forward and put his hands on Arthur's shoulders so he was forced to stare into those happy, blue eyes. "I was scared we would never see you again."

"I..." Arthur began. But he was interrupted as Francis suddenly frowned and both he and Alfred stepped backwards.

"What did you leave for?" Alfred demanded, looking angry. "We thought they'd got you!"

"I..." Arthur found he couldn't say anything more, at a loss of how to deal with the situation.

"Hey!" exclaimed Vladimir, suddenly, coming to Arthur's rescue. "What are you doing to Olly?!"

Freezing, Arthur's mind suddenly cleared. Thanks to his new friends, he knew exactly what he had to do. Retreating from Alfred and Francis, he said, "Arthur...?" He tried to make himself sound confused and a little frightened – something that he didn't find hard to do.

Blinking, Alfred tilted his head to one side. Francis's frown merely deepened; he looked suspicious. "Arthur...?" Alfred said, clearly confused.

Vlad and Lukas, bless them, stepped in front of Arthur, frowning at Alfred and Francis. "His name is Oliver," Lukas told them. Arthur was relieved he didn't bother telling them his surname – that would give it all away.

However, Francis's eyes lit up in understanding. "A fake name..."

Arthur began to panic. "W-What are you talking about?!" he cried, getting louder and more desperate with every word. "My name is Oliver, not Arthur! I don't know you!"

"Oh, no!" said Alfred, looking worried. "Did they make you forget again?!"

Both Vladimir and Lukas turned slightly, frowning at Arthur. He wasn't sure whether they were questioning Arthur himself or the two people they may think are crazy. They looked between his friends from the past and Arthur before shaking their head.

"Leave us alone, please," said Lukas before they turned and, gently turning Arthur around, led him up the stairs.

"No! Wait!" Alfred cried from behind them. Footsteps approached and, before any of the retreating trio could react, he had grabbed Arthur and pulled him back. With a gasp, Arthur slipped from the step he stood on and into Alfred's arms. Alfred pulled him close, holding him up, Arthur leaning heavily against his chest. "Arthur... Please remember."

Teary-eyed, Arthur did remember. Biting his lip, he shook his head, ducking it so Vlad and Luke wouldn't see his reaction to Alfred's words. "I don't want to remember," he whispered. That seemed to give Alfred pause and his grip loosened. Quickly, Arthur pulled away from Alfred and rushed up the steps. He passed by the confused Vlad and Luke and dashed away, running away once again.

When he reached the ground floor, instead of heading inwards or upstairs, Arthur turned to the door, desperate to escape. A cry sounded from behind him and he ignored it, hoping it wasn't Alfred or Francis. Warm spring air hit him as he pushed open the door; he didn't hesitate to rush down the stairs and head for the street. However, another cry stopped him in his tracks, remembering Vladimir and Lukas who were hot on his heels.

"Olly, what's going on?" Vladimir asked, looking worried.

"They seemed to recognise you..." Lukas added, pointedly.

"We can't stay here," protested Arthur, looking this way and that as if an escape would be at hand. Maybe a TARDIS would appear and the Doctor could take him away. He almost scoffed at his own thoughts: as if his luck would be that good.

"You're right," said Vlad and Arthur turned to him in surprise. "Let's go to my place – we can talk there."

"I'd really-" Arthur began only to be interrupted by another shout. He turned automatically before remembering that his name was _Oliver Jackson_ and not 'Kirkland' as Francis had shouted. Grimacing, he looked up at the furious-looking Alfred and the determined Francis. It didn't look like they were willing to let him go.

Fortunately, Arthur's new best friends were absolutely brilliant. They grabbed Arthur's hands and hauled him after them as they rushed away. Both of them set a punishing pace and Arthur had to stumble after them, barely keeping up.

Taking one last look over his shoulder, Arthur noted that his two old friends still stood at the top of the stairs, watching them.

* * *

Vladimir made sure Arthur had a cup of tea and was sitting down before they questioned him. Lukas leant against the door-frame as if he felt he would need the support. Vlad decided to sit on the arm of an armchair. At first, Arthur merely sipped the tea, weighing his choices. He really felt a connection with these two that ran deeper than his friendship with Alfred and Francis. If they were to find the truth from his old friends instead of him, he may lose them.

But he was having difficulty admitting it.

"What do you want to know?" he mumbled into his cup, rather wishing he had some alcohol as well.

"Your name would be a good start," said Vlad, mildly, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, you turned at both the name 'Arthur' _and_ the name 'Kirkland'," Lukas pointed out. "So, what _is_ your name?"

Clutching his teacup tighter, Arthur took a deep breath through his nose. After he had exhaled slowly, he spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to lie to you. My name is Arthur Kirkland. Oliver Jackson doesn't exist."

There was a short silence. Lukas was the one to break it. "You don't need to apologise. You did it for a good reason, right?"

"We won't begrudge you if you have to hide from someone," added Vlad. "We'll make sure to keep calling you Olly, don't worry."

Arthur gave a bark of laughter. "I always knew you two were amazing," he said, smiling sadly at them.

From then, it was much easier to tell them the story from the beginning: what had happened to him as a child; the therapy and hypnotism; the house in America. By the end of the tale, Lukas and Vladimir had piled onto the couch beside Arthur, their arms around him in a show of solidarity. None of them spoke for a while and Arthur felt himself relax.

"I'm sorry, Ol- Arthur," said Lukas, quietly.

"It must have been hell," Vlad added.

"You believe me," Arthur replied with a watery laugh. He couldn't believe he'd found someone who took what he'd said at face value. "Why?"

Vladimir and Lukas looked at each other, frowning. "I don't know," said Vladimir, at last. "It's... It's as if it's more believable than you being an 'Oliver'."

"It's hard to explain," Lukas said, looking just as puzzled.

They lapsed into silence again. Vladimir disappeared to get more tea as well as hot chocolate for himself and coffee for Lukas. Once they all had their drinks (the smell of Lukas's coffee overpowering them), they squashed into the small sofa and, after jostling themselves into a comfortable position, they sipped at them.

"What I don't understand," said Lukas suddenly, "is what Francis and Alfred are doing in Glasgow?"

"Huh." Vlad tilted his head, frowning. "Maybe they wanted to see their story in a museum? I mean, the people who wrote it must have spoken to them at some point..."

"Do you think they'll find me again?" Arthur asked, grimacing. "I'm not sure I want to face them after I ran away – twice."

"They seemed really eager to talk to you," Lukas replied, mildly, taking another sip of his coffee. "Maybe they'll be able to find you at the university. After all, you said yourself that you wouldn't be in Scotland otherwise. And, if they know you at all well, they'll figure it out."

"That Francis looks smart enough to figure it out," Vlad added. Upon seeing Arthur's upset expression, he quickly grinned and said, "But we won't let them get to you. We'll protect you!"

"You should stay here tonight, as well," Lukas added. "They might already have found out where you stay. They could be waiting for you."

Arthur shuddered. "That's just creepy."

"Ja. Vlad can give you some clothes to sleep in, right?"

"I suppose," Vladimir conceded with a sigh.

"And I'll bring you some new stuff tomorrow morning before I go to the library."

"Eh?!" exclaimed Vlad. "But it's Saturday tomorrow! We're supposed to have _fun_."

"We're at university; we're _supposed_ to study."

Hiding his grin behind his teacup, Arthur decided he had nothing to worry about. His life would continue without his old friends. He was really glad Vladimir and Lukas had come into his life.

* * *

The next morning, Lukas did indeed bring new clothes – things bought from the charity shops in Byres Road. Arthur protested at him actually buying things but gave in after Vlad attempted to take off the spare boxers he had borrowed to sleep in. Once he had dressed in a pair of slightly faded jeans and a dark green t-shirt, they left Vlad's flat. Since Lukas insisted on doing _some_ work before they did anything else, they followed him across campus.

However, Lukas had been right about them waiting for Arthur – only he had gotten the location wrong.

Arthur didn't know how they'd found out where he was studying but they were loitering outside the library when they reached the top of the steps. Freezing, Arthur cast around for a way out of the inevitable conversation: he had no doubt that they'd follow him whether he went inside or ran home. So it was lucky Vlad and Luke were with him. They stepped in front of him and shielded him from his old friends.

"Leave him alone," Lukas told them. "He doesn't want to see you."

Alfred bristled, stepping forward. He was stopped by Francis but he scowled at Arthur's new friends anyway. "Well, _we_ want to see him. We have something important we need to talk to him about."

"The house?" said Vlad, deliberately relaxing into a nonchalant stance.

"That is not something you need to worry about," Francis said, tightening his grip on Alfred's arm.

"Well, that's your tough luck, as people say," Vladimir replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "We can worry about it all we want. And if you want to upset Ar- _Oliver_ here, then you had best just leave. We'll curse you otherwise."

"No, Vlad, don't," said Arthur, tugging at his arm. "You didn't bring that amulet, did you?"

"'Curse'? Artie, d'ya really wanna hang out with these two?" Alfred demanded, shaking Francis's grip off and stalking forward.

"I don't think we should argue here," said Lukas. "Let's find somewhere to talk."

"We can sneak into the history lecture rooms; they leave them open over weekends in case people want to study," Vladimir suggested, turning on his heel and dragging Arthur with him. Arthur blinked and hurried after him, trying not to trip over his own feet. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened but he felt rather like Dorothy while her house was being blown about.

It took some time to find a suitable room but they finally found a small one with several tables pushed together to make one large table. Pictures of archaeological digs were taped to the walls and a whiteboard dominated one end of the room. An old projector nestled in the corner while a wireless one hung from the ceiling, displaying nothing. Vlad made Arthur sit on one side with him and Lukas as guards on either side of him. Alfred sat down directly across from him and Francis sat beside him, frowning at the table as if it was an annoying obstacle.

There was a short silence once they had settled. Alfred, of course, broke it. "First things first," he said, speaking through gritted teeth. "Why? Why, Arthur? Why'd you up and disappear like that? We thought you'd..."

"We thought _they_ had got hold of you," Francis finished for him, glancing worriedly at Vlad and Luke.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said, looking down at his clasped hands. He was holding them so tightly, his knuckles were white. "I just... I had to get out of there."

"Without a goodbye?" Alfred snapped, his hands curling into fists. "Is that what you thought of us? Not even worth telling us you were going? No text or call or-or _anything_!"

"I didn't want to be stopped by the police – they'd have found me if I'd done that."

"You couldn't have e-mailed us when you got back to England?!" Alfred shot to his feet, leaning forward. Francis tugged at his arm, trying to make him sit down.

"He is right, you know," Francis said, a little distractedly as he continued to pull at Alfred. "Even if you didn't want to be found, I know you are clever enough to have found a way to get in contact without being found."

Arthur hung his head, hoping to hide his shame. "I... I didn't... I..." A squeeze to his shoulder had Arthur looking up and, seeing Vlad's encouraging smile, he returned it and took a deep breath. "I felt awful leaving you behind – I couldn't bring myself to get into contact with you. I thought you'd hate me."

"Don't be silly," said Francis. "How could we hate you?"

Reluctantly, Arthur raised his eyes and gazed sadly at Francis. "All our friends..."

At that, Alfred collapsed into his chair, slouching. "That wasn't your fault," he sighed. "Though you may have been the trigger..."

"What?" asked Arthur, eyes widening. "What do you mean?"

"Alfred," said Francis, warningly. "Not just now..."

"He needs to know," Alfred protested.

"We have something to say first."

"What's going on?" Arthur demanded, his heart hammering. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He didn't want to know where this conversation was going; he _needed_ to know what they had found out.

"First of all," said Francis, "we forgive you. We were angry with you, yes, but we know how frightened you were-"

"I wasn't frightened!" Arthur protested, despite knowing how far from the truth it was. "I was just... tired. Of the whole situation."

"Well, we knew that. We forgive you."

"Yeah," Alfred agreed, giving Arthur a small smile. "You're our... friend. We're not gonna hold it against you."

This seemed a little too easy and Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Right... So..." Arthur considered what question to ask first. He opted for the question which had been with him the longest. "What happened after I'd left?"

"The cops thought you were a missing person," Alfred explained. "'Specially since we were shouting about how the things must have got you..." He trailed off, looking between Vladimir and Lukas. "Uh... Is it okay to talk about this with _them_ here? What are they anyway? 'Curses'?"

"We're practising witches," Vladimir declared.

"Wizards?" Lukas suggested instead.

"Magical people?"

"We use magic," Lukas settled on. "Good magic."

"It's not that whole blockbuster magic stuff," Vladimir added when Alfred looked alarmed. "It's more..."

"A mindset," Arthur said, hoping to finish the conversation. "It's okay. They know. I told them last night."

"What?!" shouted Alfred, leaping from his seat again. This time, he looked pained and almost as if he would cry. "Just like that?!"

"Alfred..." said Francis, putting a hand on his arm.

"But, Fran, he didn't even tell us that easily!"

"I didn't remember!" Arthur snapped, glowering at his idiot friend.

They glared at each other for a few moments. Then Alfred wilted and collapsed into his chair. "Sorry," he sighed.

"We're glad you are okay," Francis said, smiling fondly at Arthur. "This is just..."

"Yeah," murmured Arthur.

Silence fell. With no-one lecturing and no-one else around, it was a complete silence. Arthur wondered if anyone would speak and grasped for something to say. However, Lukas beat him to it. "What are you doing in Glasgow?"

"After those ghost hunters spoke to us," said Alfred, "we got a-" He broke off and glanced at Francis, frowning a little.

"We decided to look for you," Francis explained. "We both wanted to know if you were all right. And we knew by that point that you had gone back to England."

"The university told us where your parents live," Alfred added. "Well... After Francis managed to convince them it was for your own good."

"You went to my house?!" Arthur demanded, aghast. He felt like he should have been there for something like that.

Alfred nodded. "Peter said you were in Glasgow but your mom didn't want to tell us where. We came up here in the hopes we could figure out which university you were at and then..." Alfred looked away, pursing his lips.

Chuckling, Francis piped up. "Alfred saw an advertisement for the ghost hunter exhibition and wanted to go see it."

"They've got the house on a mug!" Alfred exclaimed, his expression somewhere between excitement and disgust.

"I see..." said Arthur.

"Couldn't you have asked Arthur's mother to call him?" Vladimir asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She said she would call him but..." Alfred shrugged.

Arthur thought of those messages on his answering machine and he grimaced. "Ah. Well. This... Er." He stopped and ducked his head again. "I haven't checked my messages in a while..."

"Honestly," said Francis, sighing.

"Anyways, Artie- Arthur," said Alfred, grin forming. "We're still friends, right?"

The question was abrupt and of such a different tone from the previous conversation that Arthur blinked at him for a moment. Finally, the request sunk in and he bit his lip, considering it. On one hand, he truly wished he could be friends with Alfred and Francis forever. On the other, he wanted to forget as much as possible from his previous life. He didn't want to see Matthew being speared or Myriam's face being eaten off. He didn't want to hear the voices in every whisper of clothing and the rustle of the wind. He didn't want to feel Lovino's blood covering his face and hands.

Shuddering, he turned abruptly from his former friends. "I... I don't..."

Hands fell onto his shoulders and squeezed. Looking up, Arthur found Vladimir leaning his head against Arthur's. Lukas, meanwhile, hugged Arthur's arm. It anchored him nicely, driving the memories back to the little mental room he had locked them in. Taking a deep breath, he was soon able to look over at Francis and Alfred, both of them looking pained.

"I suppose... we could..."

There was a short silence. Alfred swiftly broke it, leaning forwards. "Yes!" he cried. "Quick, we gotta exchange numbers and stuff again." Arthur willingly went along with it and Vladimir and Lukas even joined in the information exchange. When they had finished and stowed their phones away once more, Alfred turned to Francis. "Should we tell him now, then?"

"I rather thought we should spend some time with him _first_ ," said Francis, pointedly. He couldn't help a furtive glance at Arthur and the Brit himself caught sight of it.

"Tell me what?" he asked, frowning. "Is something the matter?"

"Non," replied Francis, hastily. "We... We thought we could inform you of what is happening with your _other_ former friends."

Arthur frowned, knowing full well that Francis was merely covering his tracks. "Oh?" he said, far too sweetly. He was satisfied to see Francis wince and drop his gaze to the table.

"But he can find out himself soon...?" said Alfred, obviously confused.

"Huh?" Arthur turned to him with a frown. "Are they coming here, too?"

"Nah, Japan," Alfred told him, waving his hand dismissively.

"What...? But... How will I see them if they're going there?"

"Well, you're coming with us, right? I mean, damn." Alfred's eyes widened as he realised what he had said. He pulled a face and turned to Francis. "We needta tell him now!"

"What is it?"

"I don't think telling him _right now_ is a good idea, Alfred," Francis murmured, obviously hoping to keep Arthur from hearing.

"Oh, now I _want_ to know. What's going on?"

Rolling his eyes, Alfred spread his arms in an enigmatic gesture. "We've found another one."

Arthur's breath caught in his throat. Somehow, he felt he knew what he meant. His chest felt tight and he was sure he wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to. He was thankful that Lukas and Vladimir were still curious for they leaned forward.

"Found another what?" Vlad asked, frowning at them.

"Another house," Alfred explained. "We're all heading to Japan to stop it from happening again. And we were hoping you'd come, Artie – after all, you're one of the few people who can trigger it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I doubt the university actually leaves its doors unlocked but... ssssh.


	3. Team Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are so hard to write... :(

"What exactly do you mean by that...?" Arthur eventually asked once his shock had worn off.

Francis sighed, obviously defeated. "The reason we decided to come here instead of worrying about you in America is because we were contacted by a Japanese man. He had come across a young girl who had gone through the same thing as you."

"Really?" His heart went out to the girl he didn't know, hoping she was getting the right help. Not that the help _he_ had been given had actually helped...

"He's kinda like that couple that nearly ran you over the first time," Alfred explained. "'Course, he was riding a bike so it wouldn't have mattered if he'd actually hit her but he managed to stop just in time. Apparently, he looked after her while the police were around and until her family turned up to take her home."

"This man – Kiku is his name – started to investigate the house and soon found out that people had to be below a certain age before anything would happen," continued Francis.

Arthur frowned. "But I was far older than a child the second time 'round..."

"Kiku heard about us through the Internet and called us to find out more about that. When we told him that you'd been in another house before when you were a kid..." Alfred shrugged. "He decided that the second one was a blip and it was because you'd gone through it before. He thinks it means you'll _always_ find yourself in that situation when you enter these weird houses. Like, _we_ could go in and nothing would happen but _you_ would and people-" Alfred broke off and sheepishly averted his gaze.

"We confirmed what he thought," said Francis, hastily.

"What do you mean?" Arthur demanded, heart leaping to his throat. Was he really the reason their friends were dead? What was wrong with him? Was he cursed?

"We went back to the house," said Alfred. "Nothing happened and we came out fine. Everything stayed still. And our torches worked and stuff..."

Taking a shaky breath, Arthur tried to gather his thoughts. "I... see. But... why are you going to Japan? And why do you want me to come with you?"

"Like I said, we ain't gonna take this lying down," said Alfred, clenching his fist. "It's time to fight back. We won't let them torment anyone else. So we're going there to take it down with the special weapons and stuff Kiku's made. And we need you to come to... well..." Alfred grimaced and lowered his gaze to his hands. Francis was likewise looking at his hands.

"You want to... use me as bait..." said Arthur slowly.

"Don't say it like that!" Alfred cried.

"It is what it is!" Arthur yelled, shooting to his feet and leaning towards them, bracing himself with one hand on the table. "I thought you wanted me to be your friend! This isn't how you're supposed to treat them!"

"Would it not make more sense to use that girl?" asked Lukas, deceptively calm.

Alfred and Francis looked at each other, their expressions grim. "Er," said Alfred, finally, turning back to them but not looking them in the eye. "She... She's dead... She wasn't as strong as you, Artie."

For a while, Arthur stared at them in silence. He knew full well what they were referring to. And now he was their only hope for banishing the evil that lurked in these houses. But what they were asking from him was too much. To watch people die again, over and over, from the past and the present and the future...

He didn't think he was as strong as Alfred thought he was.

"No," he whispered, kicking his chair back so he could get away from the table.

"What?" asked Alfred, straightening and staring wide-eyed at Arthur's retreat.

"I'm not going to Japan. Work it out on your own but don't involve me."

"But, Arth-!" Francis began, getting up as well.

"I said 'no'!" Arthur cried, glaring at the two of them. "If this is the only reason you're here, I suggest you leave – I wouldn't want to _waste your time_."

"You don't-!"

"Shut up, Alfred! I don't want to do it! Why can't you two understand the word 'no'! It's always been a problem for you!" Arthur stopped shouting and took several deep breaths. When he felt he could speak at a normal volume, he said, "I don't want to risk people dying, not again. So stop bugging me." He turned to Vlad and Luke. "I'm going home. I'll see you on Monday." And, with that having been said, he left the room and marched away from the university.

It was only in the safety of his room that he allowed the memories to envelope him once again...

* * *

His friends gave him until the next day.

At midday, Arthur was roused from a Doctor Who marathon (classic Doctors, this time) by a hammering on his front door. That meant, of course, that the damned building door had been left propped open by the guy who lived below him again. Sighing, he rose from the couch, stretched, yawned, paused the DVD and made his way to it to answer the summons.

On the other side were Vladimir and Lukas. Vlad grinned at him and Luke gave him a small smile, probably to put him at ease. He _was_ relieved that he hadn't found Francis and Alfred but he was confused as to what they were doing there. Usually, the two of them would leave him alone if he told them he'd see them Monday, an unspoken request to leave him alone for the rest of the weekend.

"Hey," said Vlad, nodding at the flat behind Arthur. "Let us in."

Sighing, Arthur opened the door wider and stepped aside. His friends entered and tread the familiar path to Arthur's living room. They had settled on the couch by the time he had closed and locked the door so he curled up on the old armchair instead. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I think..." murmured Lukas, picking up the TV remote. He switched it off but left Arthur's PS4 on, placating Arthur's fear of losing his place.

However, that meant that whatever they had to talk about was serious.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked, rather worried that something had happened after he had left Alfred and Francis.

"We need to talk about that house," Vladimir told him.

"What about it?" Arthur couldn't understand why they would want to talk to him about it. What more was there to say? Did they want more details? He didn't think he wanted to describe Feliciano's scream or the heartache of losing so many of his friends. In fact, he didn't really want to speak about his experiences any more.

Maybe being hypnotised to forget again would have been a better option.

"We think you should go," Lukas explained.

Arthur stared at them in stunned silence.

"We'll come with you, though," Vladimir added. "With our protective magic, we'll make sure everyone's all right!"

" _Huh_?!" cried Arthur, unsure what to make of their betrayal.

"Before you get all worked up-"

"Vlad," sighed Lukas, rolling his eyes.

"-hear us out."

"Why should I?!" Arthur demanded, his anger already rising.

"Because we're your friends?" Vlad suggested, shrugging.

"And you _did_ lie to us for almost a whole academic year," Lukas added.

The guilt tamped down on the anger and Arthur sighed in defeat. "Fine. Just... Why?"

"Alfred and Francis really think this will help in the long term. Not just for the world but for you as well."

Vladimir took over. "See, they think that, with whatever they are defeated – _finally_ – you'll be able to live without fear. They said something about stopping your nightmares and other things they seemed to be embarrassed about. Like-"

"Vlad," said Lukas, warningly. "We promised. And you made a magical pact, too."

"I know." Vlad grinned. "I was only teasing."

"I don't want to," Arthur said through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched and he glared at his coffee table. If he lost his temper with them, what would happen to their friendship? Taking a deep breath, he added, "I don't want to endanger anyone-"

"Everyone knows what they're getting into, Olly- _Arthur_ ," Vlad said, smiling kindly. It was a different look for the mischievous Vladimir and Arthur blinked, staring at them both in surprise. "We're all adults. We can make our own decisions."

"But..."

"You can't protect everyone on your own, Arthur," Lukas told him gently, also smiling. "If you won't go, we will, you know."

"It won't matter if _I_ don't go..." Arthur weakly protested.

"Well, maybe. But what if they find someone else like you?" asked Vlad. "Something will happen then, right? And you won't be there to stop it..."

"Don't be so mean, Vlad," sighed Luke, shaking his head. "But he has a point: there are other people. Like this Sen girl."

They fell silent. Arthur clutched at his trousers, struggling to come to a decision. Could he really save people from this? What could he do that he already hadn't? Would he be able to watch people die if things went wrong? Did he want to drag Vlad and Luke into his own problems?

"We'll let you think about it," said Lukas, getting up. He grabbed Vladimir's collar and pulled him up as well; Vlad stumbled to his feet.

Coughing from the near-strangulation, Vlad nodded. When he'd gotten his breath back, he added, "We've agreed to go with them – they're getting a flight out at the start of the Spring Break. Maybe we can go save the world and get back in time for exams!" He paused and grimaced. "Urgh, exams..."

"We'll see you tomorrow," Lukas added.

And they left Arthur alone to mull over what they had said.

* * *

The Friday before the two week holiday found Arthur hurrying through Glasgow Airport, keeping his eyes open. Over the last week, he had avoided going to his lectures and, since he lived off campus, he hadn't seen any of his friends. They had texted to make sure he was all right but had largely left him alone. Several times, he had picked up his phone to let them know he had decided to accompany them to Japan. He had always stopped himself when he thought of Mickaela or Antonio or any of the others.

On Wednesday, he'd gotten several texts from both Vlad and Luke suggesting he hurry and get any vaccinations he would need as Alfred and Francis were planning on leaving on Friday evening. Apparently, Vladimir and Lukas had already bought their tickets and spoken to the doctors they were registered to. Arthur half-heartedly called up his doctor and got everything sorted out. After he'd replied to them to say everything was fine, they sent him when the flight was and all the other information he needed. He'd largely ignored it, still not sure whether he'd go.

Then, early that morning, still wide awake and running over his options, he decided he _would_ go. If only to stop them doing something stupid.

After frantically buying himself tickets, he'd packed everything he needed into a carry-on bag. Actually, he may have forgotten some things but he hoped he could buy things either at the airport if urgently needed or in Japan. Then he'd had to call a taxi and anxiously waited as they crawled through traffic. Somehow, he had made it to check-in but he'd forgotten to tell his friends he'd be on the plane. So, now, he was rushing through the airport trying to find them before they boarded.

Finally, he spotted the gate and hurried down the stairs. A crowded area confronted him, some people taking advantage of the seats, others standing in a queue as they chattered amongst themselves. Arthur spotted his friends at the front: Francis was flirting with one of the attendants who were waiting for the plane to be ready to admit passengers; Alfred was listening to some sort of Japanese song, probably from an anime, and singing along loudly; Vladimir seemed to be telling the man behind him a story, probably a creepy one judging by the uncomfortable look on his face; Lukas stood to the side, arms folded, watching the three of them. None of them spotted him so he glanced around, noted no-one was watching him and darted towards them. He dearly hoped no-one would complain about him skipping the queue.

"Lukas," he murmured once he stood beside him, trying to control his breathing. Unfortunately, he was still panting as Lukas turned to him, looking a little surprised. Then his friend smiled and put a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"You made it," he said. "Well done."

Arthur snorted. "Only just," he admitted.

"Ol- Arthur!" cried Vladimir, suddenly appearing from behind Arthur and grabbing him into a hug. "You came!"

"Apparently so," Arthur answered, rolling his eyes at Lukas. He had barely managed to extract himself from Vladimir's arms when Alfred and Francis spotted him. Alfred practically leapt at him while Francis hastily excused himself and hurried over.

"Are you... coming?" Francis asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yes," Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "Why else would I be here? But I doubt I'm sitting anywhere near you – I only got the ticket today and there weren't very many seats left."

"It's okay!" Alfred declared. "We'll come speak to ya!"

"No," Arthur argued. "I'd rather not have you bugging me for the entire flight."

Alfred laughed at that. "There's the Arthur I know and- Like."

Frowning, Arthur tilted his head, wondering why Alfred had changed the saying. "Right," he said.

They were interrupted from smiling at Arthur – making him feel rather guilty that he'd left them hanging for so long – by the door opening and the attendants beginning to usher them through. Arthur took a breath and prepared himself for the flight to hell.

* * *

As he had expected, Arthur ended up sitting several rows behind the others. Throughout the flight, they came to visit. Vladimir regaled him with what he had missed during his week off from university. Lukas dropped off a book for him to read: apparently, he had packed it just in case Arthur had forgotten to bring one. Francis came by to thank him and squeeze his shoulder in comfort and solidarity. Alfred was the one to visit most often, asking Arthur about this and that and chattering on about everything he had seen in England and Scotland.

When they eventually reached Japan's Narita airport, Arthur was exhausted. He had only managed to sleep in fits and starts, nightmares waking him at odd moments and the movements of passengers keeping him awake the rest of the time. They landed in the morning of the Sunday which Arthur could barely wrap his head around in his tired state. Somehow, the others were much better off, perhaps because they'd slept _before_ the flight, too.

Getting through customs and security was easy enough, though Arthur ignored everyone as he attempted to wake up. They paused for Arthur to be plied with coffee (despite his protestations at having to drink it) before moving on. Then, suddenly, they stopped and Arthur looked around at them, thankfully sipping at some green tea.

"What is it?" he mumbled.

"Huh?" said Alfred, startled that Arthur had spoken. "Oh. Uh, we need to wait for Kiku. But I don't see him anywhere..."

Someone just behind Arthur cleared his throat and Arthur half-turned as he stepped out of the way, presuming that he was blocking their passage. Seeing someone Japanese, Arthur dredged his limited knowledge of Japanese to say, "Go-men...?"

"It is okay," the man said, smiling. He didn't take the opportunity to move around the group. "I think I may be waiting for you," he added as Arthur blinked at him.

"Oh. Kiku?"

"Hai. That is me." Kiku bowed and, when he straightened, Arthur took a moment to look him over. The man was about the same height as Arthur with dark hair and dark eyes, a fathomless pair. They almost looked empty, though, and Arthur had to wonder what he had seen of the house before getting in contact with Alfred. Kiku turned to Alfred who was just turning to see what the commotion was. "Are you Alfred-kun?"

"That's me!" Alfred said, nodding vigorously. "This is Francis," he added, pointing him out before waving at Vladimir and Lukas, "and this is Vlad and Luke. _This_ " - he clapped his hand on Arthur's shoulder, almost knocking him over with his enthusiasm - "is Arthur."

"Ah, Arthur-san? I am glad you have come."

"Er, not at all...?" Arthur replied, hesitantly, not sure what there was to be glad about.

"Where're the others?" Alfred asked Kiku.

"They are waiting for us at the hotel we're using as a base of operations until we move closer to the house. Yao is waiting for us in the car I brought." Kiku paused and his eyes flickered over the group. "I am afraid we will have to get a taxi for two of us as we did not expect this many people."

"Oh, er..."

Francis sighed. "Did you not tell anyone Vladimir and Lukas were coming?" he asked.

"Ha ha ha...?" Alfred rubbed the back of his head, avoiding eye contact by closing his eyes as he grinned sheepishly.

Shaking his head, Francis turned to the group. "So who will go in the taxi?"

"I will go so that I can speak to the driver," Kiku told him. "You may choose who to come with me between yourselves if you would like..."

Before anyone else could volunteer, Arthur raised his hands. "I'll come with you. I'd like to talk to you, anyway."

"Of course."

Kiku led the way through the airport and to the car he had come in. Standing outside it, arms folded, was another man with dark hair, though his was much longer than Kiku's and tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were a lighter colour than Kiku's and they glittered with intelligence and annoyance. "Zuìhòu!" he exclaimed, frowning at them all.

"I apologise, Yao. It took me some time to find them."

"And why are there so many of them?" Yao demanded, his eyes sweeping over them.

"A change of plans I was unaware of. We are getting a taxi, too."

"Tch. Fine. Hurry up, then, and get in."

"No need to be so moody!" Alfred admonished him, heading for the boot. The rest of them crowded there as well, eager to drop off bags which had been getting heavier over time.

"I agree with Alfred," Vladimir piped up. "Just wait till later when there _is_ a reason."

"I didn't mean that!"

Sighing, Arthur turned to Yao. "Ignore them. Those two are idiots." He paused and glanced at his other two friends. "I'm sure Lukas is the only smart one going to be in your car."

"Hey!" cried Francis, faking offence. Arthur only smirked at him.

"We should go find a taxi, Arthur-san," Kiku said, drawing his attention away from them.

"Oh, of course. Lead the way."

Waving goodbye, Arthur left them to it, shifting his bag on his shoulder as the weight became uncomfortable. Eventually, he and Kiku arrived at a taxi rank. Kiku spoke to the driver in fast-paced Japanese. The only words Arthur recognised were 'please' and 'thank you'. Once they had stored Arthur's bag in the boot, he and Kiku climbed into the back and settled down, both of them instantly putting on their seatbelts.

For a while, they sat in silence, Arthur still sipping at his tea. Kiku broke the silence, though, and said, "You wanted to speak with me?"

Gulping down his mouthful of tea, Arthur nodded and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah. I was wondering... Why are you doing this?"

"Exorcising the house?"

"If that can even be done," Arthur confirmed, nodding.

Kiku was silent for a moment. At length, he spoke. "I was the one who found Sen-chan. I nearly ran her over with my bike when she fell through a hedge. After I had convinced her that she was safe, I called the police but I stayed with her until her parents came. She spoke of some of the horrors in that place, though the police officers did not believe her. I... felt a strong desire to help her. She reminded me of my cousin..."

"And you're looking for revenge?"

"No," Kiku replied without hesitation. "I started researching the house to bring her... I think the phrase is peace of mind? But..." Kiku sighed heavily, hanging his head. "I had barely found anything of note before her parents found her..."

"I'm sorry..."

"I wanted to know what exactly had happened and found a few instances where people had been found dead in the house. However, nobody had survived to tell anyone what had happened. It was put down to various explanations over the years – but, oddly, never put down to 'ghosts'..."

"Why not?"

"I am not entirely sure," Kiku admitted. "But I expanded my search and found limited information on both the American house and the house where you originally experienced whatever happens in these places. However, I needed more so I contacted Alfred and..."

Arthur mused on that for a moment. "And you really think we can stop them?"

"Yes. I will explain more when we get there – I have to introduce you to everyone who will be helping with this endeavour." With that, Kiku fell silent, staring out of the window. Arthur copied him, watching the foreign buildings slide past and battling his fatigue.

* * *

They arrived in front of a tall building which Kiku strode through with little hesitation. He nodded to the receptionist and Arthur did the same, hurrying to catch up. After taking the lift up to the 4th floor, they made their way to room 47 which turned out to be one with four beds and enough room for several people. As Arthur stepped in, he was stunned at how many of them there were.

On one of the beds, Francis and Alfred sat, Alfred swinging his legs and Francis lounging. Beside them, on one of the other beds, were Vladimir and Lukas looking a little lost. The other beds were occupied by several Asian people and a large man with pale hair. Yao sat beside him, arms folded, clearly impatient. But on the couch were people Arthur hadn't seen for what felt like years. There was Vash looking most unimpressed with everyone. Beside him was his younger sister, Lili, a good friend to Arthur and a sweet girl. On her other side was Ludwig, looking almost wedged in and rather uncomfortable; there was also an air of anger, simmering under the surface. The arm of the sofa held Gilbert, scowling at Arthur as he paused to take everything in.

"There he is," Gilbert said, almost growling.

Taken aback, Arthur drew back, shifting to stop himself from actually stepping away or toppling over with the weight on his shoulder. "I..."

"Arthur," said Lili, smiling. She looked equal parts relieved and sad. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Of course, _he_ is," murmured Vash, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hey..." said Alfred, warningly.

"O- _Arthur_ ," said Vladimir, wincing at his mistake. "Come sit with us."

"Is that so he doesn't need to speak to _us_?" Gilbert demanded.

"I think it best not to upset him," Lukas said, narrowing his eyes.

"Please..." said Kiku, rather timidly.

"Enough of this," Yao interrupted them. "We must confirm the plan and get it done-"

"We have enough time to reconnect," Gilbert said, turning to look at Yao, probably glaring.

"Calm down, everyone..." Kiku tried, grimacing when Alfred turned his own glare on Yao.

"Yeah! Just 'cause you're in a rush to get things over with-"

"That is not-" Yao began.

"I want to know what Arthur was thinking, leaving like that," Vash declared, staring at Arthur.

Before Arthur could reply, someone else butted in, a young man he didn't recognise with black hair. He had a curl of hair which stuck upwards, rather like Alfred's cowlick and the Vargas's own curls of hair. "This is boring," he whined. "Let's get on with it!"

"This is not the time to be having fun, Yong-Soo!" Yao snapped.

"Ah, this is getting lively," said the pale-haired man; his accent was from somewhere in Eastern Europe, Arthur thought.

"Vash," said Lili, frowning at him, "I don't think-"

"What does it matter?" Vladimir demanded, narrowing his eyes at Vash. "We are here for a different reason-"

Alfred spoke over him, voice raised. "Yeah, leave Arthur alone!"

"This is important-" Vash began.

"This is damn well important!" Gilbert interrupted, standing abruptly, hands clenched into fists. "This is about all of them – Fel-"

"ENOUGH!" roared Ludwig, shooting to his feet and nearly toppling Lili off the couch. Vash barely hung on to the arm as he stared at Ludwig in surprise. "This is getting us nowhere!" Ludwig continued, his fists held by his side. "We will have introductions first then-" He faltered and looked at Arthur before dropping his gaze and dropping heavily onto the couch.

"Then Art here has to tell us what the fuck happened," Gilbert finished for him.

There was a short silence broken by Kiku who seemed a little dazed at what had just transpired. "And then we can discuss the plan..."

For a moment, Arthur stared at them all, still stunned. Vaguely, he felt Kiku take his elbow and lead him to the other couch. They sat down, Arthur dropping his bag at his feet. Once he was settled, he glanced up and immediately looked down, faced with angry gazes and unknown people. He glanced at Kiku who, seeing he was ready, nodded at Yao.

"Tch. I am Yao. This is a... business associate and friend of mine, Ivan." The pale-haired man inclined his head, smiling faintly. "Yong-Soo, an idiot we're unfortunately saddled with-"

"Hey!"

"This is Mei, a friend of- the young lady who... well."

To one side sat a young woman who was frowning. She looked determined and all the more beautiful for it. A flower clip in her black hair held it back from her eyes and a stray curl stuck up to one side. The only thing betraying her inner turmoil was the fact that she was clutching at her skirt.

"And, finally, this is Tien."

Another young woman sat close to the first, face neutral, as if she was bored. She wore her hair in a long ponytail which she was absentmindedly threading through her fingers. In contrast to Mei, she wore a pair of loose trousers which were fraying a bit at the edges as if she had worn them out.

"You know everyone else," said Kiku.

"Yes," Arthur said, finally able to speak. He avoided his old friend's eyes. "I... have missed a lot."

"You missed Feli's funeral," Gilbert snapped.

Wincing, Arthur nodded slowly. "I..."

"And Tonio's and Lovi's!"

"Matthew's, too," murmured Lili, sadly.

"I'm sorry," Arthur croaked, still unable to look at them.

"Why did you leave like that?" demanded Vash.

Thankfully, Francis came to the rescue. "Some people are unable to face up to things," he said. "Such as feelings for a person." Oddly, he sounded as if he was making a point and, when Arthur glanced over his shoulder, he found him staring hard at Ludwig who was gazing at his clasped hands.

"It doesn't matter what he did," Alfred said. "As long as he apologises – right?"

The four friends on the couch shifted and glanced at each other. Grumbling, Gilbert shrugged a shoulder and nodded. Sighing in relief, Arthur nodded as well and said, "I really am truly sorry. For... _everything_."

A silence descended once again. Once it had become heavy with things said and unsaid, Kiku cleared his throat. "If that is all for now...?" When no-one answered, he let out a breath and continued. "Perhaps we should talk about how we are going to fight this..."


	4. Equip Weapon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh. I'm sorry this took so long but it was really difficult to write this chapter. Probably cause it's another establishing chapter. And, just, urgh.
> 
> But I managed! And it's all fine. :) Hopefully.

"You said that you had something which could help?" Francis said.

Kiku nodded, swivelling around so he could speak to him directly. "Yes. I have modified several weapons that Ivan... graciously provided for us. They should be able to hold off the creatures while we search for a way to get rid of them completely."

"Weapons?" asked Arthur, feeling uneasy.

"Yes. And I believe that not all of us should go inside."

"What do you mean?"

With a faint smile, Kiku said, "I have set up cameras in the house already – if everything works out, I should be able to see you at least. However, I am also hoping that we will be able to keep audial contact, too."

"How are you going to do that?" Lukas asked. "With earpieces like SWAT teams use?"

"Of a sort. We will be using radio waves, of course, at a frequency which we hope will penetrate the house thoroughly."

"Will that work?" Vladimir asked.

"They work in the house at the moment, at least."

"But maybe not when _I'm_ there..." Arthur put in, raising his eyebrows.

Kiku nodded. "It is very much a case of wait and see."

"What use will that be?" Vash asked. Everyone looked at him and he shrugged a shoulder. "This is all just a lot of 'ifs' – _if_ the weapons work, _if_ the cameras continue working, _if_ the radios work when we go in. I thought you had more than that."

"Iron was used to fight them off," said Ivan, mildly. "Surely that means that ours will as well?"

"We can't be sure, though," Vash protested. "And, anyway, what about the people waiting outside – what will they be doing?"

"It will be a safety measure," Yao told him. "Anyone on the outside will be able to know when you get in trouble. We can call the police and also try to enter to help." He looked at Ivan. "We will have at least one strong man on the outside."

"I will also monitor your vital signs," Kiku added. "That way, if anyone gets into trouble, we will be able to tell whether they need help or... not."

"You mean, we can tell if they've died or not?" Arthur demanded.

"Yes..."

Turning to Alfred and Francis, Arthur glared at them. "I don't like this. It sounded much safer the way you were telling it."

"Er," said Alfred, grimacing.

"We..." began Francis at the same time everyone started murmuring to each other.

A loud yawn from Vladimir cut them off. They all looked at him in surprise to find him rubbing at his eyes. The sight of him obviously tired reminded Arthur of his own exhaustion and he fought back his own yawn.

After a brief pause, Kiku turned to the room at large. "I have told you what we plan to do so perhaps we should sleep on it. It _is_ late after all and several of our number must be jet-lagged..."

"I'd rather-" Arthur began but, of course, another yawn interrupted him, free for the room to hear. Grimacing, Arthur ducked his head. "Bed sounds like a good idea," he mumbled.

Kiku nodded and stood. "If the newcomers will follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

"'Rooms'?" Alfred asked before he stood and stretched, curving his spine backwards.

"Yes. I got a room with two beds for you and Francis-san and another room for Arthur-san."

"What? But-"

"We'll stay with Arthur," Vladimir piped up. "That will be all right, Arthur?"

Nodding, Arthur pushed himself to his feet and wearily grabbed his bag. "Yes," he tried to say around a yawn. When he realised it hadn't made any sense, he nodded once again.

"Then follow me," said Kiku and walked to the door. The others began to move, obviously leaving for their own rooms or homes.

The group made their way to the lift again and went up two more floors. Alfred and Francis were dropped off there, saying their goodnights. Up another floor, they went, and soon, Arthur was in room 77, staring around the rather large space. It had a huge double bed on an elevated part of the floor. At its foot was a long couch which faced a large, flat-screen TV. Another door led to the en suite bathroom – from what Arthur could glimpse of it, the bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom.

"Unfortunately, the hotel had little options for us when we came to book the rooms," Kiku told them. "And there are not enough beds for you..."

"It's okay," Arthur assured him. "Two of us can share the bed and one of us can be on the couch."

"Right. I shall leave you to it."

And so Kiku left the room. Yawning, the three of them rooted through bags, looking for nightwear and toiletries. They worked in silence, too tired to really speak. However, when they were finally ready to climb into bed, they remembered that one of them needed to find bedding for the couch.

"I'll go down to reception," Arthur told them, reaching for the key on the coffee table.

"No, it's okay," Lukas told him. "The bed's big enough for all three of us."

"I don't-" Arthur began but Vladimir grabbed his wrist and, after throwing the covers back, pulled him down onto the bed as Vlad fell into it. Lukas climbed calmly into the other side.

"We're too tired to fuss with finding blankets," Vladimir murmured into the pillow.

Arthur gave up, feeling far too fatigued to get up again. He ended up being sandwiched between his two friends, both of them cuddling into him. Arthur didn't mind: he found it quite peaceful.

It would be the last peaceful moment the three of them would have for quite some time...

* * *

_He walked through the forest, eyes wide at all the living things surrounding him. This wasn't too different from the suburbs he lived in – there were trees and bushes and cats and dogs there. Here, he had already seen several squirrels (all of them, disappointingly, grey), far more wild flowers than he could remember the names of and even, once, a skittish deer. There had been lots of insects, too, some of which seemed to glow. Reaching out to touch the nearest one, he was startled as his peace was broken by a frightened cry._

_Gasping, he whirled around and found himself looking at a dense patch of foliage. Slowly, carefully, he stepped forward and began to push his way through. As he went further, he realised that the light was fading. When he reached his destination, it was so dark, he thought that night was beginning to fall. He should find his parents soon._

_The place seemed to be a small clearing where, almost unnaturally, trees had refused to grow. It revealed a cliff that would be dangerous for anyone walking above. At the bottom of it, a small figure was curled up. Whoever it was had placed their back against the cliff and was sobbing quietly into his knees._

_He could understand why. This place felt like -._

_Frowning, he tried to concentrate. What did it feel like? Like... the place where..._

_Unable to remember, he decided to concentrate on_ why _it felt like it. Upon reflection, he realised that it felt like something was there, just on the edge of his perception. As if he could see things moving out of the corner of his eye despite not seeing anything at all. Like the feeling of being watched multiplied and distorted. There was also something in it which drew him in and he took a step forward._

_Instantly, the person's head shot up. Now that he could see, he realised it must be a younger Vladimir. The boy had the same dark eyes and his hair, though more dishevelled, fell in the same shape. Sniffing, he looked around and, after choking back a quiet sob, he called out._

_"Who's there?"_

_Could Vlad not see him? Was he a ghost? Or was he seeing his friend's memory? Why?_

_"We're friends!" came the answer, the same voices he'd been hearing nearly all his life. "You'll play with us, won't you?"_

_"Are you going to eat me?" asked Vlad._

_"Of course not!" Giggling. "Why would you think that?"_

_"Well, will you drink my blood?"_

_"Now... That we_ can't _guarantee." More giggling, getting louder until, suddenly, the noise dropped. It was still there, though, he knew. The giggling sound was moving. Moving closer to Vlad._

_The poor child started and, with a shrill yell, fled the clearing. He watched him go, wondering. Was this just a dream? Or had Vladimir really heard the voices?_

_"Does it matter?" asked the voice and he started, stumbling away from them, back to the safety of the trees. "Does it matter, Artie?"_

_"It's so good to see you, Artie!"_

_"Come play!"_

_"Play, play, play!"_

_But he ignored them and plunged into the foliage, trying to ignore the way the twigs and branches caught on his hair and clothes. Trying to ignore the fact he was a child again. Trying to ignore the sense of foreboding spreading through him._

_Hands caught hold of him: some on his arms, some on his waist, some on his ankles and one covering his mouth so he couldn't scream though he tried and tried to call for help..._

* * *

Arthur sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. It felt as if he'd been holding his breath for far too long. Gasping, he clutched at his chest, the fabric of his pyjama top clenched between his fingers. After a moment of breathing, he realised that he was alone in the bed. Alarmed, Arthur looked around but was eventually relieved to see that Vladimir and Lukas were both sitting on the couch, watching the TV. The volume must have been high enough to disguise any thrashing about he had done during his nightmare.

Sighing, Arthur calmed himself. He wondered what the dream had been about. After all, he usually only had dreams about houses, not darkened forests where vampires roamed. Shaking his head, he slipped from the bed and headed to the bathroom – just as someone hammered on the door. He recognised that overly exuberant knock.

"That'll be Alfred," he told his friends who startled at seeing him awake and out of bed. "I'm going to get ready so just let him know."

Into the bathroom he went, heading for the shower and hopefully another wake-up call. He still felt exhausted and he even yawned as he sorted himself out. Since he figured he had to be more alert for tackling ghosts, Arthur gave himself the luxury of a perfect shower but followed it up with a blast of water so cold he was surprised it didn't come out as ice. Then he dried off, tied the towel around his waist and went looking for clothes.

Almost as soon as he opened the bathroom door, he was assaulted with noise. Apparently, not only had Alfred turned up; Francis, Kiku and several of the others were there, too. They were all arguing, getting louder by the second. Arthur could barely make out what they were going on about. None of them had noticed him exit so he grabbed his clothes and returned to the bathroom to dress.

And hide.

Eventually, he re-emerged to find that everyone was sitting in what seemed to be a reluctant silent. Perhaps they had come to an agreement.

"Ah, Arthur," said Francis, the first to notice him.

"Good... Is it morning?"

"Afternoon," Lukas told him.

"Huh. Good afternoon, then. What are you doing here? And where's that Ivan and Yao? And... Yong Soo, was it?"

"They are setting up the outer base at the house," Kiku replied.

"Right." Arthur shifted under their gaze. "I see. Is that what you were arguing about?"

"Well," said Alfred, shrugging a shoulder uncomfortably.

"We were arguing about whether we should go in or not, after what they said last night," Vash told him, brusquely. "A few of us... had our doubts."

"So what do you think?" Gilbert demanded. "Are you willing to go through with this? Or are you chickening out?"

Feeling a little bewildered, Arthur studied their faces. Vladimir was smiling at him, perhaps intending to be encouraging. Lukas was as impassive as always. Alfred was biting his lip, worry written clear to see. Francis looked pained as if he wanted two things but both were equally distasteful. Kiku seemed calm, ready to accept any answer. Ludwig looked agitated, his fists clenching and unclenching. Beside him, Gilbert looked fierce, ready to argue and defend his brother and the dead Feliciano. Vash looked angry as always and Lili looked sad yet determined. Mei looked angry, annoyed at the delay, perhaps. Tien merely blinked at him, waiting for the verdict.

Looking at all of them, Arthur wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to disappoint anyone. Yet, for some reason, he felt that taking any of them into the house with him would only end in disaster. They wouldn't listen, though – he knew that much. He had already tried, time and again, to stop them from going. However, here they were in Japan. There was little he could do to stop them now.

Besides, hadn't he already given his consent to be used as bait when he bought the plane ticket back in Scotland?

With a deep breath, Arthur nodded, mostly to himself than anyone else. "We go in."

Several people gave a sigh of relief. Vash sniffed haughtily as if he had been expecting a different response and was reluctantly impressed. Both Francis and Alfred, though, seemed less than pleased. But only Kiku spoke.

"We should grab anything we feel we need and make our way to the cars."

* * *

_There was a light ahead though he wasn't sure where it came from. This place was dark. The only sound was a steady dripping from somewhere. He headed towards it regardless. Perhaps he would find out where he was._

_As he moved onwards, the light revealed more of his location. Wherever he was, the walls were made of rock, as were the floor and ceiling. He stumbled a few times, catching himself on the wall. To keep himself from falling, he kept his hand lightly trailing along the wall as he walked._

_Finally, the walls widened and he found himself in a large cave. There was something a little wrong with it, from what he could see. All the rocks seemed smoother, as if someone had sanded them down. In the middle of the room was a large lump in the floor, lots of little ones surrounded it. Little alcoves could be seen in the walls though there was nothing there bar small pools of water. It looked a lot like someone's dining room._

_On the table, quite rudely, a little boy sat, knees clutched to his chest. The boy had light hair and he looked around himself with wide eyes. Strapped to the boy's head was a torch, its light what he had seen along the tunnel. He recognised the younger Lukas and a sense of foreboding shot through him, making him gasp lightly. Concerned, he began to make his way to his young friend. However, he kicked a loose stone and sent it skittering along the floor. He froze, surprised at the noise. Lukas did the opposite; he sniffed and looked directly at him, puzzled and hopeful – it was clear Lukas couldn't see him._

_"Dad?" Lukas whispered, beginning to relax._

_"I'm better than that," said a deep voice. It was so at odds with the high-pitched voices he was used to that he stumbled away from where he stood. After all, it seemed to have come from right behind him. He stood to the side, watching the scene in fear._

_"Who... are you, then?" Lukas asked, letting go of his legs so he could stretch them out in front of him. It was clear that the boy was scared but he seemed to be readying himself for flight. He approved of how smart Lukas was being._

_"A friend," said the deep voice._

_"Your host," another voice chimed in, this one a little higher pitched._

_"A brother," added another, sounding almost human._

_"Romance," said one which sounded more like a woman._

_"Everyone you will ever need," the last one told Lukas, this one sounding more like the voices he had become used to._

_"I... I only want my dad..." said Lukas, hesitantly. Obviously he was thrown by the abstract topic the voices had settled on._

_"You don't need him. Come with us."_

_"What are you?"_

_"Friends," the voices explained._

_Lukas looked around the room they were in. "Do you live... here?"_

_"Near here. Would you like to come with us and see?"_

_Slowly, Lukas slipped to the floor. Then he shook his head. "You'll eat me..."_

_"Why would you think that?" asked the voices, laughing gaily. "Come with us."_

_"No! I want my father!" And, without further ado, Lukas dashed off, moving for the opposite entrance to the cave._

_He dashed after him, concerned for his friend. However, the light disappeared and, suddenly, he was surrounded by whispering._

_"Artie!"_

_"Come to us!"_

_"You're almost here!"_

_"Play with us!"_

_Before he could react, Artie was suddenly surrounded by people or things he couldn't see. They jostled him and he stumbled. Catching himself, he had barely straightened up when he was pushed from behind. He fell forward, crying out, falling and falling and falling into darkness..._

* * *

Arthur woke with a jolt, gasping as he almost fell out of the car. He had obviously dozed off while they drove and they must have stopped somewhere for the door was open. Alfred stood there, steadying him as Arthur tried to orient himself.

"Hey, woah, it's okay," Alfred told him, rubbing Arthur's arm. "I've got you."

Breathing deeply, Arthur nodded his acknowledgement. For a while, he said nothing, calming himself before he spoke. "Where are we?" he asked. "Where's Lukas and Vladimir?"

Frowning, Alfred moved out of the way so that Arthur could get out of the empty car. "They're over there," he said, pointing over at what looked like a large PortaKabin. "They're waiting on you."

Sighing in relief, Arthur stepped out and stretched. "Thanks," he said to Alfred. "How long have I been asleep?"

"For most of the journey," Alfred replied, gesturing to the sky. It was beginning to turn dark with half the sky being a light blue and the other so dark it was almost purple. The sun had turned the clouds to the west a light pink. Alfred drew Arthur's attention back to earth by pointing at a long hedge which cut off the field they were in from the rest of the world. "The house is beyond that. We'll have to go back to the road to get in at the gate."

Arthur glanced at Alfred before looking at the hedge more closely. It had clearly not been maintained. Turning to take in the rest of the scenery, Arthur noted that the cars were parked on an area of bare dirt. The rest of the field was overgrown, the grass up to his shins. Beyond the cars, Arthur could see a set of buildings with a gate; it seemed to be a set of dilapidated stables. Arthur wondered who had lived in the house, who had housed horses here. Had what had happened to the owners of the American house happened to the Japanese family living here?

A shout from behind him made Arthur turn back to the cabin to see Francis waving at them. Obviously, everyone was getting impatient. Pausing to stretch a final time, Arthur followed Alfred to it, Alfred glancing worriedly at him as they walked. "You don't need to do this, you know," Alfred murmured.

"Weren't you the one telling me I should?" Arthur pointed out.

"When I thought there was some super weapon which would kick those things' asses, yeah!"

"And now you're chickening out?"

"No!" Alfred protested. "I only want to... protect you. I don't mind going in there in your place."

"You need me to be the bait, Alfred," Arthur said, kindly, smiling weakly at him. "I'll... I'll do my best."

"Well... Stay close to me, okay? I won't let them lay a finger... or whatever on you."

At that point, they reached the cabin and entered it. Arthur was instantly in awe. The entirety of the walls of the cabin were given over to banks of computers. Above them, on one side, monitors showed streams of data. Opposite were monitors which showed rooms devoid of life, still and silent, waiting. A few rolling chairs were littered throughout the cabin. It looked very much like the inside of the portable police command centres Arthur had seen in films and TV.

The others were huddled around a small, round table upon which several black items were sitting. All of them, for some reason, were wearing black what looked like black vests over their clothes. When they turned to look at him, he soon found out why: each and every one of them had one of those protective vests that police wore for raids. Most of them were holding large guns whilst others had what looked like bits of metal pipes.

"What...?" Arthur began, taken aback.

"Ah, Arthur," said Francis, turning back to the table. He grabbed a vest and came towards Arthur. "I'll help you get this on."

"What's this for?" Arthur asked, letting Francis put it on him.

"I hope that it will protect you from any sharp objects," Kiku said as Francis gently turned Arthur around to strap the vest on tightly. "I feel it would be best to try preventing as many injuries as possible."

"But it won't protect us from high-speed projectiles," Vash piped up. "They're not bulletproof."

"Those are far more expensive," Ivan said, mildly.

"And what kind of guns are those?" Arthur inquired as he was handed one by Lili.

"They're Kalashnikovs," she told him, taking his arms to show him how to hold it. "From the AK-12 series."

"I... see."

He concentrated on holding the weapon, feeling uneasy. This didn't seem right, holding these dangerous things. It made him feel as if he'd been conscripted into an army. Arthur only looked back up when Ivan passed him some ammo.

"We made the bullets from iron. These should be used for long-distance attacks." Ivan turned back to the table, grabbed something else and handed it to Arthur. He stared down at the bit of metal pipe in his hand. "This is for closer targets," Ivan explained. "It's a... truncheon."

"It's a bit of pipe," Arthur replied, dryly. Nevertheless, he slipped it into the holster made for it and accepted the head torch handed to him by Kiku.

"Da. They are very useful," Ivan said, serenely. His happy smile made Arthur shudder and was thankful that Ivan moved away to sit in one of the chairs.

"You are not going!" Vash suddenly snapped and Arthur turned to find out what the problem was. His old friend was frowning down at his younger sister, arms folded. Lili had her hands on her hips, frowning as well.

"I don't want to watch you from here," Lili protested. "I want to help. I _can_ help."

"You can help from here."

"I-"

"I don't want to lose you in there if something goes wrong!"

Arthur decided to weigh in. "It would be something of a relief if less people were going in," he told Lili. She turned to him, fire and determination in her eyes. He grimaced at her, trying his best to look apologetic. Slowly, she relaxed, her arms dropping and her sad gaze lowered to the floor. "And, if anything goes wrong, we'll need you to come rescue us. Ivan alone won't be enough."

"Actually," said Yao, "I'm staying behind, too. Kiku, Ivan and I were planning to be here – if anything was to go wrong, Ivan and I were going to come in and leave Kiku to coordinate a rescue."

"But that is only _if_ you need rescuing," Kiku added with a small, encouraging smile.

"Hm," said Arthur.

"Here." Turning at the voice, Arthur found himself face to face with Mei who held out her hand, palm up. Upon it was what looked like a Bluetooth headset. Hesitantly, Arthur took it. "Put it on. That's our communication system."

"Ah, thank you."

Carefully, Arthur did as he was told, sending a frown Kiku's way. "I thought you said we were using radios?"

"Modified radios, yes. I've modified the headset to send and receive radio waves over a larger distance."

"Is everyone ready?" Ludwig suddenly demanded, obviously eager to start the 'mission'.

"Make sure you have everything important!" Lili reminded them. "You can use the pouches in the vests, too."

At the reminder of the pockets, Arthur patted himself down. He knew he had brought something along which had felt important at the time. Now, though, he wasn't sure why. However, as he hesitated, wondering if he should leave it behind, he spotted Vladimir pulling out a couple of his amulets and popping them into a pouch. Meanwhile, Lukas pulled something small out and put it into one of his own; Arthur was sure it was one of the stones Lukas had carved magical circles on. Supposedly, it was to help with the problem of not having time or room to draw one when in an emergency. As for Arthur, seeing that made him a little more confident to pull out his Tarot cards and place them in a pouch. He hadn't had a chance to try reading them recently but, since they had been his first gift from Vladimir and Lukas, he felt a little more at ease with them on his person.

Not that they would be any use within the house.

"Let's go," said Ludwig, marching to the door. The group looked at each other but followed him. Arthur hovered for a moment, reluctant to see this new house. Yong Soo stopped to hug Yao who pushed him away, grumbling. Mei was the one to drag Yong Soo away fully and Tien followed them closely. Lili grabbed hold of her brother's hands and held them tightly, looking teary. Arthur looked away, reminded of Lovino and Feliciano. If Vash were to die...

"Are you ready?" said Alfred, suddenly coming up beside Arthur.

"I suppose so," Arthur murmured and allowed Alfred to guide him out of the cabin again.

Outside, they moved off, heading to the gate to the field. They exited and turned along the road. It was almost entirely silent. The calls of nocturnal animals and insects were muted, as if something was blocking them. With the eerie atmosphere, Arthur was beginning to feel even more uneasy. He gripped his gun tightly as they stopped before a tall gate which was almost invisible since the hedges had merged with it. Ludwig pushed it open; a sharp creak rent the air and Arthur jolted in surprise. The gate would only open halfway so they filed through the gap one by one. Arthur was the last through and, once he was in the grounds of the house, he stopped beside Vladimir and Lukas.

The house was a mansion, much like the other two had been. It was huge, its triangular roofs piercing the sky. Besides the overgrown front garden, the house took up the rest of the space, sprawling across the plot of land. The overhang of the roof shielded the lower part of the house from their eyes, the elongating shadows leaving the front door in shadows. An odd feeling stole over Arthur, as if the house was eagerly awaiting its visitors.

He knew the struggle had already started.

Shuddering, he took a breath and turned to Vlad and Luke. However, upon seeing them, his eyes widened. They were both staring at the house in horror. Something about their expressions filled him with dread. A whisper of wind ruffled their hair as he waited for them to move.

"It feels like... _then_ ," breathed Vladimir.

"Ja..." Lukas whispered.

"You... You can always go back," Arthur said, softly, reaching for them.

Both of them jerked away from him at the same time, turning their wide-eyed gaze on him. Arthur flinched and stepped back, confused and more frightened than he had been upon seeing the house. For a quiet moment, the three of them breathed heavily. Then, suddenly, Arthur's headset sprung to life with the noise of static followed by Kiku's voice.

" _Can everyone hear me?_ " A chorus of yeses sounded from the group. " _Good. We will have to wait to see if it works inside the house as well._ "

"Right," said Ludwig. "I'll open the door now."

Wincing, Arthur turned to the house, prepared to face those things once more. A hand caught his arm and he almost spun to shoot at whatever it was. Instead, he turned to find Vladimir holding him, a determined expression on his face. "We won't let you go in there without us," he said while Lukas nodded behind him.

A small smile graced Arthur's face. "Thank you," he murmured.

Steadying themselves, the three young men took a breath and followed their friends into the house.


	5. Quiet as the Grave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unfortunately shorter than the previous chapters. =/ Just... whoops.
> 
> Also, this'll be the last chapter for a while - got NanoWrimo, etc. to do! Sorry! I'll get back to this ASAP, though.

The entrance was narrower than Arthur had been expecting. There was an extra step just inside the door where disintegrating shoes had been left. Arthur poked at one with a toe and a spider scarpered from inside it.

They ventured on, looking around the slim hallway. A door was on their right and a long corridor on their left. Ahead of them, a shorter hall led to what appeared to be a bannister; there were probably stairs there. At the far end of that hall was another door.

Alfred was ahead of the others, making careful sweeps along the edges of the hall, probing the shadows with his torch. Turning back to them, he said, "Should we-?"

"If the next words to come out of your mouth are 'split up'," Arthur told him, eyes narrowed, "I'll shoot you."

"Okay, okay!" Alfred exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "But the hall's too small to really move around like this. Right?" he added, turning to Ludwig.

"I agree. It probably _would_ be for the best if we split up..."

" _I can keep an eye on everyone if you do,_ " came Kiku's voice from their headsets.

"Oh!" said Arthur, surprised. "So they're working?"

" _Yes, everything's working,_ " Kiku confirmed. " _So far._ _I can see you right now. I don't see anything else there, at the moment._ "

"That's a relief."

"So we can split up, then," said Gilbert. "Three groups. The girls with Yong-Soo and Vash, us four and little Artie with his new friends. All good?"

Arthur flinched at his nickname and opened his mouth to protest. However, Vladimir spoke over him. "That's fine with us – right, Luke?"

"Yes," Lukas agreed.

"Wait, wait, no," Alfred said, waving his hands around. " _I'm_ going with Artie!"

"Stop-" Arthur began.

"If you want," Gilbert said, shrugging a shoulder disinterestedly.

"Wait a moment," Francis interjected. "I want to keep an eye on Arthur as well. _I'll_ go with him."

"Jesus Christ," Vash muttered.

" _I think the groups you came up with would work-_ " Kiku began but Alfred turned on Francis at the same moment and shouted over him.

"No way! I want to-" Breaking off, Alfred glanced at Arthur before ducking his head. "You know why I want to go with him..."

"Huh?" said Arthur, wondering what was going on between the two of them. Had he missed something important? And were they really arguing about something so stupid? Maybe he was still dreaming...

"Enough of this," snapped Vash. "We use the groups that were just decided. If we stand around here arguing all night, we'll get nothing done."

"But we'll be near the door..." Arthur murmured to Vlad and Luke. They nodded, eyes darting around the darkened hallway.

"But-!"

"Leave it, Alfie," said Gilbert, sighing. "This is _so_ not the time for this."

Tense, Alfred looked between Arthur and Francis for a few moments. Arthur frowned at him, wordlessly trying to ask what was wrong. Then he sighed and deflated. "Fine. Let's go."

They separated: the group with Vash went to the left; Alfred stomped off to the right, still looking put out; Arthur led Vladimir and Lukas towards the stairs. Almost as soon as Arthur stepped on the first stair, Kiku spoke up. " _The corridor to the left of the front door seems to lead to empty rooms. The door you have gone through, Alfred-kun, leads to the kitchen and dining area. And, Arthur, I think there are studies upstairs – they have filing cabinets that I could not open when I investigated this myself_."

"Thanks, Kiku," Arthur replied. "We'll be sure to try them, anyway. Or keep an eye out for the key."

Cautiously, Arthur led his group up the stairs. A few of them creaked loudly. Arthur winced at each one but didn't stop. When they reached the landing, he turned his head this way and that, sweeping his light across it. There seemed to be nothing there bar some dusty decorative vases and faded cabinets. A few of the vases still had the remains of flowers, lending a rotting smell to the still atmosphere.

Gripping their weapons, Arthur, Vladimir and Lukas made their way along the hallway. In a few of the rooms, they found beds and huge wardrobes which were locked and impossible to open. After a whispered discussion, they decided they would ask one of the girls for a kirby grip or two and try picking the locks. They moved onwards, finding a couple of storage rooms, some holding samurai armour and weapons along with a ruined kimono.

Finally, they reached the studies Kiku had mentioned. Not only were there filing cabinets which wouldn't open, the desk drawers refused to budge as well. They gave it up as a lost cause and were soon at the final room of the upper landing. Arthur was feeling uneasy – hadn't they been attacked long before now in the other houses? What was going on? Had there even been an incident here?

" _Ah, Arthur-san. That door is locked_ ," said Kiku as Arthur reached for the handle. " _I have no idea what is inside it_."

"We can always try, right?" said Vladimir. "And then, when we've searched some more for answers and found none, we can leave, yes? This place is spooky."

"Definitely," Arthur agreed. He grasped the handle and pulled at the door.

It opened effortlessly, sliding aside with barely a whisper.

Arthur froze, staring into the darkened room. His torch only lit up something wooden and curved. Breathing heavily, he backed up, fear shooting through his body. He was all for abandoning the place when Lukas stepped forward to look inside.

"It's a nursery," he declared, looking confused.

"Huh?" asked Arthur, also befuddled. Stepping forward, he peered through the darkness. Sure enough, Lukas was correct, a cot nestled in the corner. The curved wooden thing had belonged to a rocking horse. Other toys were scattered across the room: a doll's house; several vacantly staring dolls; a raggedy teddy bear; wooden blocks; horses and warriors caught mid-battle; at least three wooden swords of different lengths.

And, in the corner, was a packed bookcase.

Curious, Arthur picked his way across the room, constantly looking around as he went. There were no shadows, however, and no movements from anyone bar himself and his friends. Upon reaching the bookcase, he slipped a book from its place and, after blowing away the dust, he stared down at the cover at the unfamiliar script. Unable to read it, he flicked through it to see if he could tell what the book was about from any pictures within.

The first pages he saw had messy English writing scrawled across it.

Blinking in surprise, Arthur lifted the book closer, squinting at the letters. It didn't take long for him to decipher it and, with a cry, he dropped the book.

 _Ring-a-ring o' roses_  
A pocketful of posies.  
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!  
We all fall down.

He could almost hear those voices, whispering in his ears. But, in reality, there was silence. Staying as still as possible, Arthur tried to hear past the sound of his heart beating in his ears and his own heavy breathing. As he tried to sense them, he became slowly aware that he could feel eyes upon him. Terrified, he spun around, fumbling for the gun slung over his shoulder. Instead of finding horrifying shadows and monsters, he found himself staring, wide-eyed at a concerned Vladimir and Lukas.

All at once, he realised that the same sense of foreboding he had felt throughout his time in the other two houses was far weaker in this mansion. It was almost as if, though those things had been in the place beforehand, they had left, leaving only a residual feeling. Perhaps that was what had happened. Maybe, hopefully, they only came out once in a house before retreating to wherever they came from.

Arthur sighed in relief, letting his arms dropped. He felt exhausted now. All he wanted to do was leave the house, go back to the hotel and sleep for a day or two.

"Are you okay?" asked Lukas, hesitantly. "Did something happen?"

"No, I'm fine," Arthur assured him. "Someone's defaced the book; I thought it was... _them_."

"Well, we didn't find anything else here," Vladimir told Arthur. "We should go back now."

"Yeah." Arthur looked over the nursery once more, wondering why the room was unlocked now. Was it important? Remembering something, he turned to his friends again. "Huh. There was a diary and mentions of a boy... Maybe these things are attracted to children and then haunt the place once they've... done whatever they do with them."

"Why those particular children, though?" Lukas asked, frowning deeply.

"Well, they've not exactly being doing anything we could consider humanly possible so I doubt we'll ever understand."

With that, they left the nursery after Arthur had replaced the book. He closed the door behind himself and they began to make their way back down the hallway. It had been a while since they had entered the house and, since nothing seemed to have happened, Arthur was feeling a little more relaxed than he perhaps should have been. He still kept a tight hold of his gun, of course, but they strode towards the stairs without moving their heads to and fro as they had on the way in.

A few feet from the top of the stairs, their headsets fizzled into life with Kiku's voice and they paused, listening. " _Arthur-san? Lukas-san? Vladimir-san? Can any of you hear me?_ "

"Ah, yes, Kiku," Arthur replied, glancing at Lukas and Vladimir in puzzlement. Had it been just him or had Kiku sounded a little panicked? The confusions on his friends' faces, though, confirmed that they had heard it, too. "What's wrong?"

" _Ā, yokatta_ ," Kiku breathed.

" _Where the hell were you guys?!_ " came Alfred's voice. " _Why weren't you responding?! Kiku said he couldn't see you!_ "

"Huh?" Arthur thought back to what had happened and suddenly realised what was wrong. "Ah! I forgot the nursery didn't have a camera..."

" _Nursery?_ " said Kiku, sounding intrigued.

"Mm. It's at the furthest part of the house from the... base...? It's probably too far away for the radio...?"

" _That... could be..._ "

"There's toys and a cot in that room," Vladimir explained. "And books all in Japanese. We can't read that, obviously."

" _Hm. And how did you get in? That room was locked._ "

"It was open..." said Lukas, a little hesitantly.

" _That doesn't sound good_ ," Francis piped up.

"There was nothing really of note," Arthur said. "A-" He paused, wondering if he should tell them about the English rhyme in the book.

" _Oi!_ " came Gilbert's voice, so loud and annoyed that Arthur could practically see the scowl. " _Don't keep something from us like you did with the others. This is all about fighting these bastards – we need all the info we can get_."

"'Info'?" Arthur repeated, an unbidden smile forming. "What are you, a professional SWAT member?"

" _Please answer the question, Arthur_ ," said Ludwig.

"I picked up one of the books and looked inside," Arthur admitted. "An English nursery rhyme was scrawled over the pages."

" _Which one_?" asked Lili.

"Ring-a-ring o' roses," Arthur told her.

"A pocketful of posies," Vladimir continued. Arthur glanced at him sharply, alarmed. Was something causing him to say the whole lot? Vladimir appeared rather surprised and Arthur wasn't sure whether to be relieved or even more concerned.

"A-tishoo! A-tishoo!" said Lukas, looking bewildered.

The three of them paused, staring at each other. Then, without consulting each other, they said, in unison, "We all fall down."

There was a brief, shocked silence. Alfred broke it once again. " _Dude, don't do that! It's creepy!_ "

"Sorry," Arthur said, shaking his head to clear it. He wasn't sure what had just happened but he decided it was probably best if they moved before something else happened. Turning on his heel, he began to stride to the stairs. "We're coming down now. Meet us in the foyer."

" _Sure thing_ ," Alfred replied.

" _We're here already_ ," Vash added.

Sure enough, when Arthur, Vladimir and Lukas reached the bottom of the stairs, Vash's group was standing in front of the door, Alfred's group only just emerging from their area. "Did anyone find anything?" Arthur asked as he reached them.

"Nope," Alfred told him. "Nothing much."

"There were still dishes in the kitchen," Francis added. "And some food in what seemed to be the pantry. But, for the most part, nothing dangerous and no clues to what happened here."

"The only odd thing we found," said Mei, "was that all the valuables were destroyed except for anything with silver on it."

"Or iron," Yong-Soo added.

"Nothing has happened at all, either," said Ludwig, holding his chin with thumb and forefinger as he pondered.

"Maybe they're not going to come tonight?" Arthur suggested. "I mean... I don't feel as uneasy as I did those... other times..."

Alfred crossed the space and made his way to the door. Everyone watched as he grasped the handle, turned it and swung the door open. Gaping at it, Arthur let out a quiet, shaky, relieved breath. There was a way out and they could take it now. They wouldn't be trapped there.

" _Well, that was a waste of time_ ," came Yao's voice.

" _Maybe it can only happen certain days..._ " said Lili. " _We should-_ "

" _Wait a moment_ ," Kiku interjected, sounding concerned again. " _You are missing someone. There should be eleven – I see only ten of you in front of the door_."

Arthur froze, glancing around. Who was missing? Could they be saved?

Was this his fault?

"Where's Tien?!" Mei exclaimed, turning back to the corridor their group had gone down.

" _Wait!_ " cried Yao. " _There are no vital signs coming from Tien..._ "

"No!" Mei cried.

Vash grasped her around the waist before she could dash away, dragging her back to the group. She struggled and whacked his arms and screamed in her own language. But the heartbroken tears streaming down her cheeks was the most striking part of that image, the thing which drove the guilt deeper into Arthur even as his unease returned tenfold.

And then the front door slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!


	6. Repeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That time of the year again!
> 
> In all honesty, the next few chapters will probably be short - I'm not too sure what's happening between now and a particular point in time... I'm just gonna wing it.

_"Artie!"_

"No," breathed Arthur, staring at the door with wide eyes as a chill spread through his body. "No, no, no. Not again."

Desperately, Arthur rushed past Alfred and to the door. There, he tugged at it, jostling the handle every which way. But the door refused to budge and Arthur slumped against it, kept upright by his shoulder and the knowledge that his friends were nearby. Whispers of giggling reached him but they were gone as soon as he glanced up, searching for their source.

"Arthur!" Alfred exclaimed, catching Arthur's attention. He straightened up and turned to see Alfred jerking his head towards the others. Everyone was staring at him. Mei was still trying to get free but Vash's grip was firm and all she could do was swing her legs back and forth. She was still crying but the others seemed to be more concerned about Arthur than her at the moment.

He took a breath. "We... We're stuck. It's- They're... It's happening again." His shoulders slumped and he bit his lip to hold back his panic.

There was a brief silence. Ludwig was the one to break it. "Kiku," he said. "Where is Tien? We should find out exactly what happened to her before we decide our next move."

" _She seems to be in one of those empty rooms to the left of the front door but..._ "

" _The camera isn't working in that room_ ," Yao interjected. " _It was fine until we went looking for her_."

"How did you not see her vital signs changing?" Mei demanded. "We might have saved her-" She broke off and took a breath, tears still falling.

" _They were fine until we realised she wasn't with you_ ," Lili piped up.

"Come on, everyone," said Ludwig, turning towards where Tien would be found.

Slowly, the group began to move in that direction. Vash finally let Mei go and, thankfully, she stayed with them, subdued now rather than distressed. Arthur took a moment, surveying them all and wondering just how many of them would survive this time. Before he could move off, Alfred stepped towards him and put a hand on his arm.

"You all right?" he asked Arthur.

Nodding, Arthur was quick to say, "Yes."

"Hm," said Alfred but he let his hand drop and drew away. His eyes flickered over Arthur before he turned to follow the others.

With a weary sigh, Arthur trailed behind the group, thinking. Someone was already dead. Once they'd found Tien, he hoped he could talk the others into leaving. It was better to run than to have anyone else die due to his presence. But why? Why was he and that girl the only ones known to them who could trigger these horrible things' presence?

He lifted a hand to run it through his hair and nudged the gun still hanging from his shoulder. Blinking, he paused for a moment, staring down at it. Guns. They all had weapons. He had completely forgotten about them with the panic and the guilt and the grief of their situation. Lifting his head, he watched his friends cautiously making their way along the wooden corridor, the shadows pressing in against their torchlight.

There were two choices.

Run, flee the mansion and return to their lives.

Or fight, take the creatures on and beat them at their own game, stop them before they hurt anyone else.

Arthur clenched his fists as he came to a decision. Then, gripping his weapon tightly, he hurried to catch up, eyeing the darkness with suspicion and anger. Once he'd caught up with Alfred, he glanced at his friend. Alfred frowned at him for a moment but he seemed to notice Arthur's set jaw and the way he tightly kept hold of the Kalashnikov. With a weak smile, Alfred gripped Arthur's shoulder in a show of solidarity before stepping aside to let Arthur enter the room.

His resolve almost faltered once he saw what awaited them.

Hanging by her hair, Tien swung from the unlit lightbulb. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had fallen open: she stared at them as they moved through the door. The gun she had carried dangled from her right arm while her torch shone upon the wall from where it had fallen. Blood dripped from her body, pooling beneath her; new droplets made a small splash as they landed. A total of four katana protruded from her back and chest, clearly thrust through from different angles with a horrific amount of force to get through her vest. Three were clearly unnecessary as one had gone straight through her heart.

"We'll cut her down, Mei," said Ludwig as kindly as he could manage, holding her back.

"I brought a knife with me," Gilbert offered, handing it over to him.

They switched places but it seemed they didn't need to stop Mei any more – she looked defeated, staring at Tien listlessly. It was clear to everyone that she was in shock. Francis was the one who took it upon himself to lead her aside. He sat her down and slid down to the ground beside her, pulling her into a hug. Mei clung to him but made no other move.

Silence fell as Ludwig reached up to saw through Tien's tangled hair. Gilbert took it upon himself to hold her up so she didn't fall, Vash behind her just in case. Yong-Soo looked just as shocked as Mei, his eyes wide as he watched. Vlad and Luke were huddled together in the corner; when Arthur squinted at them, he realised they were looking rather ill. Meanwhile, Alfred hovered near him, sending him surreptitious glances as if he was worried that _Arthur_ was about to have a breakdown or run off again.

Instead, Arthur felt a strange calm come over him. He wasn't panicked and he knew there was no point in trying to leave – he had escaped twice in the same way, he doubted it would work a third time. They were trapped. None of them would leave here alive. All his friends would die.

Again.

All his friends would die.

He was not going to let that happen.

His grip on his weapon tightened and his jaw set. If they couldn't get out, if they were supposed to stay here till morning, terrorised and mocked, Arthur was going to fight back. This nightmare had to end. It would end. He would make sure of that.

* * *

Once Tien had been lowered and carefully laid down on a futon in the next room, Arthur turned to his friends. "I've had enough," he declared, his temper rising.

"What do you mean?" asked Vlad, blinking at him.

"I've had enough," Arthur repeated. "I don't know what these things are and I don't know what they want but I don't care. They've killed too many. We need to destroy them."

Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you were gonna give up."

"No," snapped Arthur. "We're going to find them and kill them all."

"How?" asked Francis, one arm still around Mei.

" _I've been recording everything on all the cameras_ ," Kiku said. " _I replayed the footage from when... I'm not sure but there seem to be shapes in the edges of the room Tien-_ "

" _They look small, though_ ," Lili added when Kiku didn't continue.

"Still doesn't answer how we're going to find them," Gilbert remarked. He was fiddling with his knife, his eyes flicking from corner to corner. "We don't know how they decide to attack."

" _Actually_ ," said Yao, " _Tien seemed to be lured into the room, perhaps by a noise. She looked around before she peeked inside – and then she was separated from the group and the cameras gave out_."

"At least we know that the cameras fail in the presence of these things," Luke said. "If a camera fails-"

" _Ah_!" exclaimed Kiku. " _One just did! In the kitchen_."

"Right," said Arthur, still determined to do damage to these things. "Let's go. And no splitting up."

"I don't think that's wise," said Francis.

"What?" Arthur snapped, eyes narrowing.

Francis calmly gazed back. "Mei is in no condition to-"

"No," she gasped, pulling away from Francis. "No. I want to go. I want to-" She broke off but they all understood when she turned her head slightly to look at Tien.

A short silence was the only answer they gave but, when Mei stood up on shaking legs, the others did as well. With everyone gripping their weapons tightly, they exited the room and made their way back to the foyer. Ludwig was the one to lead them through the corridors with Gilbert bringing up the rear. Everyone swept their torches nervously from side to side, alert for any movements.

Eventually, they reached the other door that Alfred and Francis's group had already been through. Since Francis was sticking close to Mei's side, Alfred was the one who opened the door for them. Again, Ludwig went first, sweeping the gun in an arc as he peered around. Once he'd had a cursory look, he beckoned for them all to follow and they paced through, each of them looking around intently.

The headset crackled in Arthur's ear again and he paused to listen, just before he entered the door. " _Can anyone hear us_?" Kiku was asking.

"Yes?" Arthur replied, confused. "Why?"

" _Ludwig isn't responding to us_ ," Lili explained. " _They must stop working when you go in that room_."

"We'll be careful," Arthur assured her, glancing at Vash, Vlad and Luke who were hovering around him.

"Come on," Gilbert snapped from behind them. "Let's _go_." He seemed tense, perhaps worried that he couldn't see his brother. Arthur obeyed him, also worried that his newfound goal was going to get more of his friends killed.

Instead, they found everyone safe and sound, their guns raised as they looked around. Their torches moved to and fro, bathing the room in so much light that there were hardly any shadows. The kitchen was large enough for several people to move around. All of the counters and cupboards and other decorations seemed rather modern, perhaps built in the last few decades. As they had reported, there were dishes in the sink, the tap dripping and making a constant, quiet dinging noise as it hit something in there. Old-fashioned lanterns with candles within them were dotted around, as if to decorate the place. On the wall was a dusty clock which had stopped at 4:44. Other than that, there was nothing else untoward.

Apart from the four cups sitting in the middle island, as innocuous as could be.

"You never mentioned the cups," Arthur commented, something niggling at him.

"They weren't here before," Alfred told him, rather distractedly.

"There's nothing here," said Francis. "Did the cameras in the pantry and storerooms go down, too?"

"I don't know but they won't answer," Arthur replied. "The radios aren't working in here, apparently."

"Why did it all stop working? Our torches are fine."

"Don't jinx us!" hissed Alfred, his eyes wide.

"He's right, though," said Vlad, frowning. "Surely they should have turned off, too. It's almost as if they want us to see what's going on..."

Everyone paused at that, considering those implications. Arthur shuddered and was sure that he saw all of his friends do the same. They looked around again but nothing else seemed out of place and the shadows were merely theirs. With nothing else to do in the large room, Arthur turned to Ludwig.

"Should we check the rooms through there, too?" he asked, using his torch to point at the door opposite the one they had all come through. "We can't talk to Kiku right now so we don't know if there's anything wrong through there."

"Maybe we should go back to the foyer," Luke suggested, his eyes flickering around the room, clearly still wary. "Ask Kiku what's going on in the rest of the house before we go into the unknown."

Vash spoke up. "Shouldn't we secure a way out? Once you get out of these houses, their power over you diminishes, right?" He raised an eyebrow in Arthur's direction.

"Yes," Arthur agreed. "But I'm not sure if they'll stick around for us to kill them if we manage to open a door or window to the outside world."

"Going to the foyer sounds like the best plan," Ludwig said from beside the sink. They all looked over at him and watched as he reached out to the tap. Just as he laid his hand on it, obviously intending on stopping the annoying dripping, there was a crackling in Arthur's ear.

" _-ear me_?" came Kiku's voice. " _Again, can anyone hear me_?"

"Kiku," said Arthur, quickly. "They're working again. Whatever these things are must have left the kitchen."

" _The camera in the kitchen is working again_ ," Yao said. " _It turned back on before we could reach you over the radio_."

"Oh, good," said Alfred. "But is there anywhere else these things might be? In the pantry?"

" _None of the other cameras have turned off_ ," Lili replied. " _Everything's quiet. Nothing's moving_."

"Then I think we should go over what we know," Ludwig said. "Once we've figured out how to draw these things out, we can kill them." When he'd finished speaking, he turned the tap – it emitted a loud squeak and the dripping stopped.

And, at that precise moment, as if the closing of the faucet was the trigger, their torches flickered.

"Uh...?" said Alfred, staring down at it. "These... These are new, right?"

" _Indeed_..." Kiku confirmed, sounding uneasy.

"We need to get out of this roo-" Arthur began. He was interrupted by a bang and they all turned, the lights still flickering, to see that the way back to the foyer was barred by the closed door. "We're all still in this room, right?" Arthur quickly asked, unable to turn to make sure, the flickering lights making him tense. Fear was quickly overtaking his anger and he wanted nothing more than to be at home, reading a good book. Preferably not a horror.

" _You're all still in the kitchen_ ," Lili piped up after a short second of silence.

"Check the doors," Ludwig ordered. "We need to get out of this space. There are plenty of things that can be used as weapons in here."

Mei was closest to the door to the pantry and other storerooms so she tested it. The door didn't budge and she looked back at them with a grimace. "I think we might be stuck in here..."

"Shit," said Alfred, suddenly. Everyone turned to him and Arthur immediately noticed the lack of light shining from him. His torch had gone out.

"Oh, no," breathed Vlad from beside Arthur. A quick glance showed him that both he and Luke were shaking their torches, fruitlessly trying to regain their light source.

Eyes sweeping the room, Arthur watched as, one by one, the torches failed. The room grew dimmer, shadows pressing in on them. He was sure he heard whispering and giggling. On the counter, the shadows of the cups stretched towards him, unnaturally reaching for the final light – Arthur's torch.

He clutched it tightly, watching with wide eyes as it continued to flicker. "No," he whispered, willing the thing to stay on.

And the torch went out, plunging them into total darkness.


	7. Lightening

"Shit," Alfred breathed, his voice carrying in the sudden silence.

Darkness pressed down on them. Arthur felt like he couldn't breathe. Did he just feel something brush past him? Was that a whisper of a giggle? He felt as if he was falling, unable to control the situation despite his feet being planted on the floor.

"What do we do?" asked Yong-Soo, tone urgent.

" _Don't panic_ ," came Kiku's voice. " _The cameras are still on and we have night vision on them. Everyone's still in the room and there isn't anything in there with you, as far as I can see_."

"'As far as you can see'," Gilbert repeated, sounding disdainful. " _That's_ comforting."

"Should we perhaps find a light source?" Lukas asked, his voice small but firm.

"Did anyone bring any matches or lighters?" Ludwig asked.

"I even brought candles," Mei told them.

"Thank goodness  _someone's_ prepared," was Vladimir's response.

The sounds of movement came from by the door to the pantry and, eventually, there was the scratching noise of a match being struck. It took a couple of tries, however, for it to catch and a bright spot of light flared up. Arthur latched onto it, eyeing the dimness around them as Mei touched the flame to the wick. Once that had caught, she drew the match away and shook it to put it out. The shadows stretched around them, reaching for them. Arthur shuddered despite the relief that allowed him to breathe.

Mei handed the first candle to Francis who was closest and pulled out another couple from one of the pouches. They were short and squat but would hopefully burn for a few hours at the least. She lit them off the first candle and handed one to Ludwig and the other to Gilbert. Then she produced two more. Alfred made a huffing noise of amusement.

"How many have you got in there?" he asked.

"I figured the torches would go out," she explained with a weak smile. "So I brought a few. I don't think there's enough for everyone; I didn't have enough room." She lit the two she had pulled out and handed them to Yong-Soo and Lukas. Arthur was given the last candle she had; Mei didn't look at him when she did so.

Now that there was more light, Arthur could see that all the shadows were normal. None of them were poised to kill or ready to menace them with whispers. Everything was exactly as it had been before. Even the cups were sitting idle on the counter.

Catching sight of a lantern, Arthur brightened up. "Hey," he said, hurrying to the closest one. "We can use these." He opened the tiny door and carefully pushed his candle through the small gap. It just managed to fit and he was able to light the tiny candle within.

"Good idea," said Ludwig, approvingly.

Since there were plenty of lanterns around, Arthur went around them all, lighting each one. Once he had finished, he turned to see the others looking far more relieved. The extra light made the kitchen seem cosy, if somewhat dusty. It made it seem like a normal house. Arthur was glad; he felt now that it might be easier to defeat their shadowy adversaries than he had first thought.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Yong-Soo.

Ludwig looked around and pulled out a stool. "I think we need to discuss our next move."

"They'll hear us," Arthur warned him.

"I know," said Ludwig. "Though... perhaps they can't hear Kiku and the others."

"Moving around this place with just candles is going to be inconvenient," Vash commented as he also sat down on another stool.

"That's how we got around the other one," Alfred said.

"We need to know more," Ludwig said before Vash could reply. "I think we need to know  _everything_ that  _everyone_ knows. We need to know what these things are in order to properly go up against them."

"Well," said Arthur, accepting the stool which Francis pulled out for him, "we already know that they're supernatural, work in the shadows and kill people. I don't know what else there is to use..." He paused. "Oh. Apart from the whispering."

"The whispering?"

"Yes. They whisper to me. They call my name and ask me to come to them, to go play."

"Play? What do they mean by that?"

"It's... I..." Arthur grimaced, not sure how to explain it.

"It's like they're children," said Vlad, suddenly. Arthur turned to look at him in surprise. Luke stood beside him, nodding. "But they're not children."

"They want to play games," Luke admitted. "Childish games. But they're not quite children. There's... something else there."

"How do you two know?" Vash demanded.

They looked at each other and turned to Arthur. "I can hear them, too," Vlad told him. "They call my name, too."

"So do I," Luke added.

And it hit Arthur then: their mentions of childhood expeditions, the recitation of the rhyme, their reactions to the house... The dreams he had had before they reached the house, he suddenly realised, were not dreams designed to disorient him and put him off his mission. They had been real memories, his  _friends_ ' memories. Both Lukas and Vladimir had faced these things on their own and presumed them to be different things. 

"Their influence extends beyond the houses," Arthur said, turning back to the rest of them, wondering if he should reveal their connection. Should they plan to leave? There were now three people in danger of being dragged away by those things. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath. "They send me dreams. Or, rather, memories. Memories and vague predictions. Last time, they sent me memories of my first trip to the house. This time..." He looked towards Luke and Vlad, searching for permission.

"We've met these things before, too," Lukas said without preamble.

" _What_ ?" came Yao's voice.

" _Why did you not tell us this_ ?" Kiku asked, sounding alarmed.

"We didn't realise," Vladimir explained. "But I've been remembering..."

"They don't just masquerade as ghosts," Arthur interjected, trying to save them from remembering the horror of being alone and facing these things. "To Vlad, they appeared as the local rumoured vampires. Right?" Vlad nodded, grimacing. "And they appeared as trolls to Luke. So how are we going to figure out what they are?"

"You should have told us this," Ludwig told them, frowning.

"We told you to tell us everything," Gilbert snapped.

Arthur glared at him. "Sorry for being a little preoccupied."

"It's vital informatio-"

"Wait," said Francis, suddenly. He was standing behind Arthur and it made Arthur jump when he spoke. His voice seemed to be too close and it had Arthur's heart hammering in his chest. Once he'd taken a breath, he twisted in his place to look up at him, finding Francis frowning into the middle distance.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"Wasn't there a diary in the other house?"

"A di-?" Arthur stopped, suddenly remembering. He had to purse his lips to keep from sobbing as he recalled Myriam's death. They had been so close to the knowledge they seeked and then... "Yes," he murmured. "There was."

"What did it say?" Ludwig asked.

"Something about them wanting the youngest in the house," Alfred informed him. "Does that mean Vladimir and Lukas were the youngest in their group, too?"

"I was on my own," Vladimir explained. "I'd gone off playing in the woods."

"And I was separated from my father," said Lukas. "I don't think he entered the cave which I ended up in."

"Was there anything else in the diary?" Gilbert asked, frowning. This time, he seemed to be frowning in thought rather than annoyance.

"It had details on what we were facing," Francis said, his expression pained. "But..."

"Myriam was reading it out," Arthur whispered, seeing the worm bursting through the table in his mind's eye. It was one of the horrors which replayed over and over in his head. What she said just before her death had slipped his mind, overpowered by the dramatic death he had witnessed. He shuddered. "She didn't finish speaking..."

"And it took the diary with it," Alfred added, also subdued.

There was a brief pause. Arthur kept his gaze on a nearby lantern, watching the flame dance. Memories of that night played through his mind, keeping him from the present. He knew he should be thinking of something else that could help but he honestly had nothing. Everyone else seemed to be remembering those they had lost, the people who had already sacrificed everything for them to be stuck in a kitchen, with no idea of how to get rid of the things.

" _Wait a minute_ ," said Lili, suddenly. " _Weren't there books with English writing upstairs_ ?"

Arthur blinked and raised his head, looking up at the ceiling. "You mean the ones in the nursery?"

" _Yes. Maybe there are clues there. It might not tell us exactly what we're dealing with but maybe the types of books will tell us something_ ."

"You mean... like the other books in the library in the other house?" Arthur asked, thinking back on them. Hadn't there been something odd about them? What was it...?

"What were they?" Vash asked, his jaw set.

"I..." Arthur frowned deeply, his face screwed up as he tried to prise the memory from all those he had tried to bury. Scenes that had played out in the other house returned to him: the walking armour, the vanishing stairs... "Magic," he breathed, his eyes widening. "All the books I saw were of magic. Like the Necronomicon."

"Magic?" muttered Ludwig, frowning. "Are you saying that we're dealing with some sort of magical creature?"

"We might be."

"But I doubt it's unicorns," Vlad put in with a quick flash of a grin.

"God, I  _wish_ ," Arthur sighed. "It would be so much easier dealing with a unicorn."

"But what  _could_ they be?" Alfred asked, putting his hands on his hips. "And how are we gonna find out?"

A thought came, unbidden, to Arthur. It made him freeze and zone out of the conversation. The others were wondering how best to find out what it was, arguing about the benefits of leaving the kitchen to go to the nursery where there was no way to see what was inside. But Arthur couldn't interact, too preoccupied with a realisation he should have had months beforehand.

There was one type of magical creature which it could be – and not one he wished to be facing.

Suddenly, someone's hand landed on Arthur's shoulder and he jumped, startled. When he looked around, he found Francis looking down on him in concern. "Are you all right, Arthur?" he asked.

"Oh! Ah... I'm just... thinking."

"Thinking?" Francis prompted, leaning closer.

"I just-"

"Right," said Ludwig suddenly, raising his voice above everyone else's. "We'll go to the nursery first. Afterwards, we'll find any books we can in the other rooms. Once we've found out more, we'll figure out a plan to deal with them."

Murmurs filled the room as everyone agreed. Slowly, everyone began to move, checking they had their things, picking up lanterns or candles. In the general hubbub, Arthur slipped from his stool and moved over to a cupboard which hung just to the side of the neglected stove. Glancing around, he made sure no-one was watching him before he tugged the door open. There was nothing inside so he quickly closed it before moving to the next one.

"Arthur?" Inhaling sharply, Arthur turned to see that Francis had been the one to quietly call on him. He was frowning, looking beyond Arthur to the cupboard door he had his hand on. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just... checking something," Arthur answered. Despite his realisation, he didn't want to alarm anyone by telling them what he suspected. However, he knew a way to test his theory – he just had to hope the house still had what he needed.

Francis hummed in disapproval. "If you're not telling us something important..." he warned, looking equal parts stern and pained.

"It's..." Arthur wondered if he should tell Francis what he suspected. Deciding that being vague would be best, he said, "Look, it's just a thought. I might not even be right. But if I am..." He shook his head. "I'm not sure we have the... equipment to lure them out, not properly. And not without causing more deaths. But I want to know for definite before we go looking through the house for what we need."

Still not looking convinced, Francis shook his head. "What are you doing just now, then?"

Opening the cupboard, Arthur looked in and was relieved to see what he had been looking for. There were two containers of it, in fact, one rather too big to carry around while the other was small enough to fit in his pouch. With a sigh of relief, Arthur picked up the small, cylindrical container of salt. He shook it a little and was pleased to feel the weight in it shift; it obviously still had some in it. So he slipped it into a pouch on his vest as he closed the cupboard door and turned to face Francis.

"I was looking for that," he explained to him, the other man looking bewildered.

As soon as his fingers left the surface of the container, however, the atmosphere seemed to shift. To Arthur, it felt as if the house was now poised to strike, as if it had merely been playing beforehand. But it was also wary; Arthur could almost feel the shift in attention from him to the others. He watched as everyone else shuddered and he grimaced, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't just endangered everyone by being too proactive.

"Let's go," Ludwig announced, looking eager to be moving again.

They obeyed without question, all of them filing carefully out of the kitchen. Everyone held their light source high and aimed their guns at the shadows, waiting for something to move. When nothing happened in the foyer and Kiku had reconfirmed that nothing seemed to be there with them, they headed for the stairs.

As they ascended, the stairs creaked just as loudly as before. Ludwig had gone first, carefully placing his feet in an attempt to stop the noise. But it didn't work and everyone who followed on continued the racket. Every squeak had Arthur on edge, tensed to see something flying at them, attacking them, killing someone.

" _Ah_ -!" came a gasp through their Bluetooth. Everyone stilled, the silence almost jarring.

" _What on Earth_ -?!" Yao began.

" _It looks like a large slug_..." Ivan said. " _It blocks your way to the nursery_."

" _Or a worm_..." Kiku put in, sounding horrified.

"No," breathed Arthur as his eyes widened.

"You mean," Alfred whispered, his grip tightening on his candle and gun, "like the one that..."

"Killed Myriam and Mickaela?" Francis quietly suggested.

Nobody moved. Arthur could hear everyone's breathing. It sounded far too loud. There was nowhere to go or move to: every second stair creaked and each sound was loud enough to attract the worm. Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and prayed it would move away from the stairs, just long enough for them to get to the landing and hide in a room.

" _It's moving towards you_..." Kiku warned.

" _This is the one which kills you if it hears you, isn't it_?" said Lili, her own voice hushed.

Since he didn't want to say anything in case the worm heard, Arthur nodded vigorously, hoping it couldn't hear his movements. Thankfully, there was no rush of sound and no jaws clamping around his body. He nearly breathed a sigh of relief but managed to let it out through his nose instead.

" _We'll let you know when it's gone_ ," Kiku murmured.

After that, everything stopped. Nothing happened for several moments. There were no clocks around so there was no way to tell how long they stood on the stairs, waiting for the all clear. It felt like eternity, like they were statues waiting for a curse to be lifted.

A sudden loud creaking from behind Arthur stole his breath in surprise and terror. Slowly, carefully, he twisted around, his grip on his gun so tight he was surprised he hadn't squeezed the metal out of shape. There, two steps below him, stood Yong-Soo, his face far too pale in the candlelight.

"Do... Do you think it heard me?" Yong-Soo whispered. "My leg was cramp-"

" _Oh, no_!" gasped Lili. " _It's moving towards you_ -!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda forgot about Yong-Soo...


	8. Attack!

A sudden movement caught Arthur's attention. Something big dropped down, just at the edge of his candle's light, down beyond the bannister and towards the ground floor. Arthur knew what it was. And he knew what was going to happen.

He spun around to fully face Yong-Soo and opened his mouth to shout a warning. Then he paused. If he spoke, if he told Yong-Soo to _move!_ would the worm attack him instead? Dread filled him at the thought. Arthur didn't want to die, was scared to. It was what made the houses all the more terrifying. So he couldn't cry out to him.

Maybe he could pull or push him out of the way. Pulling him up onto the same stair as Arthur would be better, he reasoned, since it hadn't creaked when he stepped onto it.

Before he could reach out, however, the worm erupted from below.

Arthur watched it happen in slow motion as he wobbled on the stair. Wooden fragments flew into the air. Jagged parts of the two stairs below him stuck upwards and made Alfred, who was on the stair below Yong-Soo, stagger backwards, almost falling. The worm's open maw forced its way upwards, surrounding Yong-Soo and enveloping him. It didn't just take a bite out of him, however – it swallowed him whole. As the worm rose up around him, Arthur was able to see Yong-Soo's terrified face, watched him drop his candle, saw him reach out towards him.

Then the worm's mouth snapped shut above Yong-Soo's head and the worm began to drop back down into the darkness.

It had happened so quickly that Arthur wasn't sure if he would have been able to save Yong-Soo from being bitten in half had he reacted any quicker. Would Yong-Soo have been able to survive his injuries? Would he have screamed and killed them both?

Anger rose up within him, inwardly directed. How could he think things like that? He should have saved him. Yong-Soo had been willing to risk his life to enter this hell-hole and he'd been  _eaten_ as a result. If he had reacted quicker, he could very well have saved him. They could have run. They could have-

But would they ever find out what these things were? Would they ever be able to stop them? They had this stupid worm that only appeared every so often which could kill them without warning. It was silent and deadly and they could only keep themselves from making noises for so long before someone else would be killed.

He would not let that happen.

Gritting his teeth, a growl held in check, Arthur found himself raising his gun. The worm was still slowly lowering itself away. Everything seemed to have slowed down. Was it just him? Had the things they were facing deliberately given him this chance to slowly watch a friend be murdered? Or was he actually thinking faster than he was moving?

Despite having no answers to these question, Arthur tucked the butt of the gun against his shoulder, pointed the barrel at the worm and wasted no time in pulling the trigger. The shocked silence was suddenly filled with the overpowering rattling of the gun. Arthur gasped as it kicked back, making him sway backwards and forwards slightly. His legs weren't spread apart enough, he realised, and he couldn't brace himself properly.

Thankfully, the short burst he had released seemed to do its job. The bullets hit the worm, jolting it to the side and crashing into the remains of the staircase below. It made Alfred stagger against the bannister, grabbing hold as more of the wooden stairs disintegrated. But the best result happened a few seconds later: the worm swayed upright again, writhing from side to side, and opened its maw to the heavens.

It screeched. The sound was inhuman, high-pitched and horrid. Everyone clapped their hands to their ears, even Alfred who ended up on his knees close to the edge of the new hole. Arthur swayed as well, something piercing him at his very core. It was as though the noise the creature was making struck a chord with him.

He knew exactly why it did.

The worm was screaming in pain.

Their lead bullets worked against it.

They could fight.

" _They worked_!" exclaimed Kiku in his ear, louder since his hands were pushing the device further into his ear.

"Quick!" yelled Francis from further up the stairs. "Do it again!"

Arthur did as he was told, raising his gun once more and firing at the creature. This time, he made sure to brace himself better and he was able to keep himself upright. The bullets pelted into what passed as a head for the creature. It screamed again and, this time, Arthur paused as the acrid smell of burning flesh reached him. He stared in awe as steam seemed to rise from several spots on the worm. When the worm stopped screaming for long enough for him to hear the sizzling sound, he realised that the lead in the bullets was burning the thing.

"Look out!" cried Lukas, slinging an arm around Arthur's shoulders. He was just in time to pull him back as the worm thrashed from side to side. Its mouth came disturbingly close to Arthur's face as it twisted and convulsed. He could see its sharp teeth, row upon row of them – and, beyond that, there was a black abyss.

"Hey!" Alfred suddenly shouted and the worm turned towards him. He brandished one of the pipes they'd acquired, waving it as if he was warning the worm off. But the thing didn't seem to know which way it was going. It swayed dangerously before twisting towards Alfred. He wasted no time in swinging the lead pipe at it.

Instead of hitting against the large, undulating mass of the worm ineffectually, the pipe seemed to slice through it. The worm screamed again, louder and in a higher pitch. Alfred winced and almost dropped his pipe as he slapped his hands to his ears. Everyone else did the same, Arthur even screwing his eyes up. He was quick to open them again, watching as the worm turned again. A long line of sizzling flesh had been left in the wake of the pipe. The worm's flesh popped and snapped and pulled apart. Arthur watched with wide eyes as the worm's 'head' half-fell from its neck.

"Move!" Vladimir ordered from just behind Arthur. He did as he was told, scrambling away from the falling worm's head. The large mass of flesh slumped towards him, falling as if it had been a towering building. Arthur managed to make it up four more stairs, sprawled out across them, before the tip of the worm slammed into where he'd been. The entire staircase trembled but, this time, none of the stairs broke.

Unfortunately, the worm hadn't stopped moving. Its head rose as it writhed again, twisting towards Alfred. Both he and Gilbert cried out as they stumbled back down the stairs, watching the head falling again.

If this kept up for much longer, Arthur thought, the staircase would collapse with them on it. They had to stop the beast from moving. "Quick!" he exclaimed, attracting the worm's withering attention. "Keep hitting it! Cut it off!""

His friends seemed to have understood the urgency of his statement: as he cringed away from the moving worm, there was a burst of gunfire from behind him and some from the other side of the worm. There was also yelling, battle cries and the swishing sound of Vladimir waving his pipe despite the fact that he couldn't get close enough to hit the thing. The sizzling sound joined the noise momentarily before everything was drowned out by the screaming. This time, no-one covered their ears, too preoccupied with shooting at the thing to worry about their ears. Arthur lifted his gun from where he sat on one of the steps, firing with wild abandon. Faintly, he heard someone speaking; whether it was Kiku trying to gain their attention or one of the whisperers, Arthur didn't know and didn't care to find out.

Finally, the worm seemed to slump. Before any of them could react more than taking their fingers off the triggers, the worm sank from the stairs almost as quickly as it had come. But Arthur could see the lack of purpose within it, he could hear the screams and he knew.

It wasn't simply retreating: it was falling away.

Everyone heard the loud thud as it landed in the foyer. The entire house seemed to shake. Arthur found himself grasping at the stair, his fingers curled over the lip as he waited for everything to calm. His ears were ringing, his heart pounding, his eyes straining in a sudden dimness. Everything was still as he calmed. Nobody attempted to speak. They waited.

" _It's not moving_ ," Lili reported.

"It's... dead?" Arthur asked, still amazed that they'd been able to fight back.

" _I think so_ ," Kiku confirmed.

"Then we need to get down there!" Mei exclaimed.

"What?" asked Francis, turning to her in bewilderment.

"We need to save Yong-Soo!"

There was a brief pause. " _Yong-Soo has no life signals_ ," Ivan told her, rather bluntly.

"That _thing_ swallowed him whole!" Mei protested. "Maybe we can restart his heart."

"I really don't think-" Francis began but Ludwig interrupted him.

"We'll have to be careful," he said. "Alfred, Gilbert, go down there in case it's just playing dead. It might try to kill us while we climb over."

"How?" Arthur asked, staring at the hole where the stairs had been.

Ludwig carefully manoeuvred himself around the others till he was level with Arthur. "Look," he said, pointing at the wall where several planks of wood stuck out. "Some of the stairs survived – we just have to be extremely careful."

"I'll go first," said Mei and, before anyone could stop her, she hurried down the few steps separating her from the hole. Everyone shifted, clearly intent on stopping her but Mei paid them no heed and had stepped on the first broken piece of wood which still stuck from the wall. Arthur clasped his hands together and bit his lip, hoping beyond hope that she'd be safe.

It held and she was able to hop across to the rest of the staircase. Several sighs of relief whispered around them before Ludwig took charge again. "Okay, then. Smaller people can go first. And you three get going." He waved at Alfred, Gilbert and Mei. Again, Mei wasn't paying attention and Alfred reluctantly let her pass them, hurrying to catch up with her after a quick glance at Arthur.

Lukas was the first to cross and he didn't seem to have any trouble. The same held true for Vlaidmir. Then it was Arthur's turn. He shuffled over to the edge and stared at the rickety planks he was expected to walk across. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath through his nose and told himself that he needed to do this for his friends. As he let it out, he took a step forward, letting his hand trail along the wall.

As soon as he placed all his weight on that foot, he felt a sensation rather like a burst of wind blowing past. Instead of the cooling air on his sweating face, however, it was more like the touch was a press of voices and people. Whispers glided past his ear, though he couldn't make out whole sentences.

_"No-"_

_"-pet-"_

_"-mean-"_

_"Artie!"_

Gasping, Arthur tried to step away from them, instinctively moving backwards. Forgetting that he was on a precarious stairway, he didn't lift his foot high enough and it caught on the intact stair above the plank he was on. He wobbled and, reflexively, tried to correct by going forward.

The hole was suddenly below him.

A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back, dragging him onto the safe stair. The hand squeezed at his arm, grip too tight to be comfortable yet reassuring in that it meant that Arthur had been saved. For several moments, Arthur tried to calm his breathing, his heart beating so fast that it physically ached. Finally, he turned his head and saw Francis's wide eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked, hastily.

"I think so," Arthur breathed. Then he remembered why he had been trying to move and looked across to the dim image of his two friends. Both Lukas and Vladimir were shaking their heads when he glanced over, shrinking against the wall and the bannister, respectively. "Are you two okay?" he called over.

They both stopped their movements and straightened up. Arthur saw Lukas shudder and Vladimir grimaced. "Yeah, I think we're okay," he said.

"Did you hear them?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," Lukas replied, voice trembling a little.

" _Them_ again?" asked Vash, frowning.

All three of them nodded. "But I could only hear snatches," Arthur said. "It wasn't like it is normally, when they're specifically talking to me. Something about a pet..."

"Do you think they meant the worm?" asked Vlad, looking towards the hole.

"Maybe," Arthur agreed.

"Will you be able to get across now?" Francis asked, completely focussed on Arthur.

Glancing at the hole with some trepidation, Arthur nodded. "I suppose the worm might break my fall..."

"Don't say that," said Francis, sternly.

Shrugging, Arthur stepped onto the plank he had been on before. This time, he braced himself. Nothing happened for long enough that he decided just to get it over with. So, with a deep breath, he hopped over them. It reminded him of hopscotch: a sudden urge to play came upon him so that, when he landed on the sturdier stairs, he crashed right into Lukas's chest, feeling rather lightheaded.

"Get him off the stairs," Ludwig ordered from behind him and it took a moment for Arthur to realise that Ludwig was talking about _him_.

Lukas and Vladimir obeyed without question, helping him down as he shook his head to try to clear it. Neither of them asked what was wrong. Thankfully, by the time he'd half-stumbled onto the ground floor, Arthur felt more like himself and he was able to let go of his friends' shoulders. As soon as he straightened up, he turned to find that the other three had made it across and were descending the stairs. He was just opening his mouth to express his relief at the sight when Gilbert came around the bannister and cast his eyes over them.

"Hurry up! Mei's being impossible," he said.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, even as he hurriedly followed him.

"She keeps going on about saving Yong-Soo. Keeps trying to get close to it despite the fact that..." Gilbert shuddered. "I'd rather not find out that it's actually still alive by it eating her, too."

They reached a circle of light which barely extended across the large mass of the worm. Its long body curled in a backwards c which faced the area under the stairs. Just beyond it, Arthur knew was the door that no-one had been through. Just in front of its body, Alfred was struggling to keep Mei back, all his weight thrown into pushing Mei backwards. The woman was flailing at him, kicking at him, whacking at his arms and hissing threats all the while.

"He's still alive!" she was snapping as they closed in on them. "I know it!"

"Didn't you hear what Ivan said?" Arthur said as they stepped up behind her.

" _She won't listen to us_ ," Kiku said, sounding apologetic. " _There are definitely no life signs coming from Yong-Soo's equipment_."

"But it swallowed him whole!" Mei protested, despite stepping away from Alfred – and, by default, the worm as well. "If we cut it open, we might be able to pull him out and restart his heart! Like-Like in that movie with the puppet."

"Oh!" Francis exclaimed, eyes wide. "Or Little Red Riding Hood!"

"That only happens in some versions," Arthur said. "The Wolf and the Kids is probably a better comparison. And I don't think that's what's happened here, not if-"

There was a sudden hissing noise, as if air was being let out of something inflatable. Puzzled, Arthur glanced around before his eyes alighted on the creature they had just killed. He watched in horrified fascination as it began to deflate, drooping in on itself before its sides flopped in. It took only two minutes for the worm to become nothing more than a hideous pile of flesh on the floor – with no room for a body within its folds.

Everyone stared at it. Nobody spoke. Tension hung between them all. Mei had frozen in horror. The group watched her as surreptitiously as possible. She shifted, almost stepped forward. Then she swayed and, without warning dropped to her knees, still staring at the slain monster.

" _No_ ," Mei breathed, loud in the silence.

Francis was the one to step forward. He placed a gentle hand on Mei's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Mei," he whispered, though they could all hear him. "I know how hard this-"

"No," Mei repeated, shaking her head and shifting so that Francis's hand fell to his side. He stepped back as she leaned forward, bracing herself with a hand on the floor. "No, you don't- Tien... Tien was important to me-" Mei choked up then, a noise almost like a sob escaping her. But she took a deep breath and continued. "Tien only came here because she was in the room when Kiku asked me to help. She didn't want to let me come here by myself. And I was happy to be able to be with her in this awful place."

"That wasn't-" Alfred began.

Again, Mei interrupted him. "I _know_. I know that she volunteered. It was her decision. I _understand_ that. But... But Yong-Soo. Kiku said he needed more help, before he found everyone else. So I told Yong-Soo what was happening. And I convinced him to come. He didn't want to. I kept asking, though, kept telling him he'd be a hero and-" She broke off when another sob was let loose. "I brought him here. It's my fault he's dead! I-!"

For a moment, no-one moved. Arthur watched her shoulders shaking, his own heart hurting. He knew exactly what she was going through: he remembered Oliver and Jack, remembered the others he hadn't warned, remembered Yong-Soo reaching out for help. Stepping forward, he crossed the distance to Mei and knelt down beside her. She turned to him, her face twisted into a mixture of grief for her friends and indignation that he dared come close.

" _I_ understand," he told her, quietly. He blinked back tears as he gazed at her, waiting.

Her eyes darted across his face, taking in his expression. Then her expression crumpled, tears rolled down her face and she began to wail.


	9. AWOL

After letting Mei mourn for a little while, Arthur helped her to her feet. "We should get to the nursery," he said. Glancing at the stairs, he paused and grimaced. "Do you think we'll be able to get up the stairs?"

"If we're careful," Ludwig said. "We'll just have to hope we don't get trapped upstairs..."

" _If you do_ ," said Lili, sounding determined, " _I'll come in with a ladder_."

"You stay out there where it's safe," Vash snapped. "Besides, you don't have a ladder out there."

" _I could go find one_ -"

"You can't drive!"

" _I don't care_!" Lili exclaimed and everyone winced at her volume. " _I'm not going to lose you, Vash_..."

The brief silence was broken by Francis. "We can fight back now, darling. Vash will walk out of here."

Again, they dissolved into silence. Finally, Ludwig said, "Let's go."

They obeyed without question, falling back into a similar formation from before. When they reached the hole, they were careful about stepping across it. Each of them waited until the person in front of them managed to hop fully across. Arthur watched those who had been above him on the stairs earlier go across easily. Even Lukas and Vladimir managed it without being in danger of falling: he had been worried that they would hear whispers and wobble.

Then it was his turn and, with some trepidation, he stepped onto the first plank. Once he had all his weight on that foot, he paused and waited, bracing himself for something to happen: a whisper; a push; a fall. But nothing did and, when Gilbert cleared his throat behind him, Arthur was quick to hop across the rest of the way. Finally, he was back on relatively solid ground and he scurried out of the way before turning to make sure the last two of their group, Alfred and Gilbert, made it over. When they did, Arthur sighed in relief and hurried up the stairs to join the others who had huddled on the landing above.

"We have to be careful," Ludwig said once they'd all gathered. "We don't know what could be along here. Watch the doors but don't open any, no matter what you hear, without telling one of us. Got it?"

A quiet chorus of agreement answered him and they cautiously set off, guns pointed at each door as they passed, pipes held aloft. Ludwig was in the lead, as usual, Vash close behind. Francis had a hand on Mei's shoulder, squeezing it every time her hands trembled, shaking her gun from side to side. Vlad and Luke were quiet and close together, as if they were trying to form a shield in front of Arthur. He was also protected from behind as Alfred closely followed him. Gilbert was watching their backs; when Arthur looked over his shoulder, he could see him spin around, point the gun in several directions and then turn back to continue trooping along with them.

Eventually, they came to the door to the nursery. There, they paused and Vash turned to look at the camera which covered that door. "We're here," he declared. "Can you see us?"

" _Yes_ ," said Lili, hastily.

" _We'll lose complete contact with you when you go in there_ ," Kiku warned. " _So... be careful_."

"We will," Ludwig assured him. He turned to the group and looked them all over. "Is everyone else ready?"

This time, no-one said anything. Instead, they all nodded. Ludwig gave them a single, firm nod before he turned to the door. He reached out. Arthur held his breath. His hand wrapped around the handle. Arthur bit his lip, half-expecting the metal to scold him or something equally unpleasant. He turned the handle. Nobody moved, nobody made a sound. All Arthur could hear was the rushing sound in his ears as his heart pounded and the faint flickering sounds of their candles. He pushed open the door-

It didn't budge.

Everyone stared at it as Ludwig tried to get it to budge again. After a few more tries – one in which he threw all his weight into it – Ludwig stepped back, frowning. "It's either locked again or stuck."

"I'll try!" Alfred declared, excitedly. Arthur had to step out of his way, pressing himself against the wall, as Alfred pushed his way past. When he reached the front, he shouldered Ludwig out of his way.

"I don't think-" Ludwig began.

"You're not giving it enough force," Alfred told him and proceeded to throw himself against it, hand turning the handle over and over.

"Or maybe you can only open the door if you're one of the magical trio over here," said Gilbert dryly, jerking his thumb towards Lukas and Vladimir as he nodded at Arthur.

Alfred paused in his actions before slowly pulling away. "Oh. Yeah. Probably."

"I'll do it," Arthur offered. The others moved out of his way, making him feel as if he'd actually used some sort of magic power to force them apart. Something about that seemed to strike at something deep within him and he had to take a deep breath to force it down. Whatever it was, it seemed to be the same sensation he had felt when he hopped over the hole in the staircase.

It frightened him.

Focussing on the situation at hand, Arthur steeled himself, grabbed the door handle and pushed open the door. It glided open easily, making no sound, just as it had before. The darkness beyond pressed on them, stretching towards them like a greedy child yearning for sweets.

"Well," said Gilbert. "That answers _that_."

" _Be careful_ ," Kiku murmured in their ears.

"Let's go," Ludwig said, evidently trying to encourage movement. Arthur was happy to stand aside as Ludwig stepped through the door, candle held high. He followed him through, peering around, wondering if anything had changed.

But nothing had, everything exactly as they had left it. Arthur stared around, wondering if anything would jump out now that the rest of his friends were here. Everything was utterly still. His friends flowed through into the room, inspecting all the corners and illuminating the room with merrily dancing light.

Since nothing bad seemed to be happening, Arthur moved towards the bookcase. He spotted the book he had removed earlier as he hadn't pushed it in as far as the others around it. Plucking it free, he peered at it in the dim lighting. The nursery rhyme was still there and, when he flicked through the rest of it, he found nothing else of note.

"Can anyone in this room read Japanese?" he asked the others.

" _Oh_!" came a voice from his ear. " _We can hear you this time_ ," Kiku said. " _And, if you can find some way of showing the book to the camera_..."

"Well, which camera is the easiest to reach?" Arthur asked, trying to work it out himself. But the angles he remembered from their base were all from the ceiling and he didn't fancy trying to climb up to them.

" _Hm... The one in the kitchen, perhaps_?" Kiku suggested, though he didn't sound convinced. " _There are counters underneath it that you can climb on_."

"Brilliant," he replied, turning back to the bookcase. "Maybe I should pull out some more in case there are ones with pictures." That being said, Arthur reached out to pull out another one.

Before he could even brush a volume, the entire bookcase went up in flames. Heat and light flared against Arthur and he fell backwards in alarm, crying out. The conflagration rose higher and he heard his friends shouting things. But the noise was overwhelming and Arthur could only stare at it in shock.

_"No cheating, Artie!"_

That had sounded so close to Arthur's ear that he jerked away from it. He scrambled away, heading to the far corner, breathing heavily and smelling smoke. The heat still reached him from his vantage point and he cowered before it like a frightened animal. Without a creature to aim at, Arthur wasn't sure what he should be attacking.

Strangely, large licks of flame shot out from the burning bookcase, leaping across the room. They didn't get very far but Mei suddenly gave a cry. "The book!" she exclaimed, pointing at the floor. "Quick, grab the book!" Arthur looked where she was pointing and felt dread fill him: he had dropped the book dangerously close to the bookcase inferno.

Without pausing to think, Arthur pushed himself up from his prone position. He barely let himself get his feet under him before he lunged at the book. That left him sprawled on his stomach, one arm outstretched, heat pressing at him much like the shadows usually did. Thankfully, he could just about touch the book and managed to grip the edge of its spine between thumb and forefinger. He'd only just begun to pull it towards him when the flames leapt toward the book once again.

Startled, he jerked his head back, dimly aware of shouts and the flapping of heavy curtains and people trying to move closer. But he paid them little attention as he watched the corner of the book catch, a tiny flame flickering there, threatening to spread. A worrying darkness began to spread across the book as the flame grew.

Desperately, Arthur threw out his hand once again and, this time, he could actually grip it. He pulled the book towards him and picked it up, holding the flaming end away from him. Then, as quickly and urgently as he could, he hit the burning end against the floor several times. The flame grew smaller and, when Gilbert and Ludwig appeared above him, the tiny fire was choked out when they dumped several metres of curtain atop it.

At the exact moment the book was buried under the dark material, the light in the room dimmed. Arthur blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the darker room. It took him a moment to realise that the bookcase's fire had gone out, just as suddenly as it had started. Arthur scrambled to his feet, pulled the curtain off the floor and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the one book he had managed to pull from the shelves was still intact, if a little singed.

"Are you okay, Arthur?" Alfred asked, now holding two candles.

"Yeah," he replied, moving towards him. Arthur reached out for a candle and, when Alfred had given it to him, moved over to the bookcase. There, he looked in dismay upon the destroyed library of information. All the books had been completely scorched, every single one of them blackened. A few of them crumbled into ashes as he watched. Spotting a better-looking one, he reached out to touch it – and it disintegrated. "No," he murmured, dismayed at the outcome.

"Crap," said Alfred just behind him. "Better hope the info we need is in that book."

Arthur sighed. "Yeah. _Sure_ ," he said. "I doubt it, though. It'll probably just be a red herring."

"Don't be so disheartened, Arthur," said Francis from across the room. "They probably weren't expecting you to keep the book intact."

"They didn't like me finding out who or what they are," Arthur told the room. "I mean, they just said that-"

" _Wait_ ," came Kiku's voice suddenly. " _Is... Are Vladimir and Lukas still in the room with you_?"

Freezing, Arthur felt his heart squeeze, his breath gone. Licking his lips, he slowly turned to the room and surveyed it. Francis stood near Mei, apparently having been content to be as far from the fire as they could. Alfred stood nearby. Ludwig and Gilbert had moved the curtain away and stood near the dirty window, looking around in confusion.

No-one else was in the room.

"Kiku..." said Arthur, slowly. "Why were you asking that...?"

" _Their_..."

" _We cannot see them_ ," Ivan took over when Kiku paused. " _And their heart monitors have disconnected_."

"Are..." whispered Arthur, "are you trying to tell me that they're dead?"

" _We don't know_ ," Lili informed him, sounding vaguely distracted. " _We're getting no signals whatsoever from them. Their screens are blank. It's not like Tien or Yong-Soo_."

"Then where are they?" Ludwig asked, frowning deeper.

" _That_..."

" _We don't know that either_ ," said Yao, briskly. " _We've been replaying the footage from just before and after you entered the nursery. There is... interference of some sort, for a brief second, over their images. And then... they have vanished afterwards_..."

"They... They didn't come in?" Arthur asked hastily, wondering how he could have missed their obvious absence.

" _Not as far as we can see_."

With that confirmation, Arthur gripped his candle tightly and hurried from the room. His lone little light competed with those in the room to cast dancing shadows across the doorway and part of the hall beyond. He ignored them and the suggestion of laughter that danced around his ears in order to walk the way they had come, searching frantically for anything that would tell him where his friends had gone. Spotting one of the doors nearby was ajar, he made his way towards it – and almost fell when he stepped on something round which cracked when he put his weight on it, the noise loud in the stillness.

Gasping, Arthur recoiled. Looking down, he spotted a lantern on its side, the flame within long extinguished. Beside it, an innocuous candle lay nestled against it, also without a flame. Arthur leaned down to pick it up when his candlelight reflected off of something close by. Blinking, Arthur reached out to it, bringing his light source closer, and stared at the three objects he found lying there, abandoned in the middle of the floor.

A couple of amulets and a small stone with a runic circle carved into it.

"No," Arthur whispered, knowing full well that Vlad and Luke would never have left these behind – unless something bad had happened to them.

Straightening, he looked to his right, noting that they were lying directly in front of the door he had been heading towards. Panicked, he stepped over the evidence of their disappearance and shoved the door open, uncaring about how loud it was when it banged off the wall. Someone said his name behind him but he ignored them and rushed in, holding the candle high. But the light did not reflect off two pairs of eyes or the gloss of two different colours of hair. It didn't even light up a grisly scene. The room was just as empty as it had been when they had inspected it earlier, only a small, round table to adorn the bare room. Frowning, he took another step further in and heard a crunch.

Startled, he stepped back, looking down. There, he found the familiar wires that made up their vitals' monitoring system. When he reached down to pluck the broken one from the floor, an intact one fell from the tangle. He could see nothing else around, nothing to explain how they had been removed. There were no vests or weapons or anything that indicated where they could have gone.

Which meant, Arthur reasoned, that they were still in the house. Maybe he could still save them. Maybe they could kill the things while they were at it, force them to leave all his friends alone.

And there may very well be one way to have his friends leave the house alive.

"Arthur," said a voice, drawing him from his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he found Alfred looking at him with worry clear on his face.

"They're gone," he said, not answering the unspoken question. "I don't..." Trailing off, he stepped back towards the charms and picked them up. "These were supposed to protect them," he said, sadly.

When he looked back up at Alfred, he noted that the others were in the hall now, gathered behind him, keeping their distance. Arthur spotted Mei squinting at his hand so wasn't surprised when she spoke. "Are those... glowing?"

Strangely, Arthur didn't feel all that surprised when he looked down and saw that she was right, a soft blue and red staining his hands in the darkness. In addition to that, Arthur realised that they were warm, thrumming as if he was standing with his hand flat against the outer part of a machine. He stared down at them, confused. Then he realised what had to be happening and, with a perplexed frown, curled his fingers protectively around them.

"I think we should go to the kitchen to discuss this..." he said, hesitantly.


	10. Magic Items

Once they'd reached the relative safety of the kitchen, Arthur placed Vlad's amulets and Lukas's stone on the central island so that everyone could see them. They were still glowing and it intrigued him while also worrying him. But he decided to talk about that after they'd shown Kiku the book.

"After all," he pointed out, "we don't know when the cameras will go out again."

The others agreed and, before Arthur could ask for a hand up, Mei took the book and clambered onto the counter. She stood with her body bowed, bracing herself with her legs as she held the book up in front of the counter, showing Kiku the cover. Ludwig took it upon himself to stand beneath her, ready to catch her should she fall, which seemed likely since she kept wobbling.

" _It's hard to see..._ " said Kiku. " _I'll take a photo and try to clean it up a bit – then I'll get back to you_."

" _Open it to the pages with the English nursery rhyme_ ," Lili suggested. " _Maybe they were trying to cover up what they are by writing over it_."

"With an English nursery rhyme?" asked Alfred. "Seems kinda... obvious."

"They probably think it's amusing to tease us," Arthur said with a heavy sigh.

"Okay, enough about the book," said Gilbert. "Why are these glowing, Arthur? And no skirting around the issue."

Mei clambered down once Lili confirmed they'd gotten the picture. As soon as she was gathered in the now smaller circle, Arthur spoke. "I don't know why they're glowing _exactly_ ," he said, "but I know what they are."

He lifted the first of Vladimir's amulets. It was a small horseshoe, not actually made of iron but fashioned to look as if it was. If Arthur remembered correctly, Vlad had picked it up while visiting Ireland one year. His friend had said that made it luckier, more inclined to protect him against bad luck and evil spirits. "I think this is fairly obvious, yes?" he asked, holding it up, rubbing at the plastic and wishing it had been made of the correct material. Maybe then, it would have actually worked.

"Aren't those supposed to be above a doorway?" Alfred asked.

"Yes," Arthur agreed. "But Vlad apparently thought he might need all the help he could get when he came in here." He placed it carefully on the counter and lifted the next one: red and white strings twisted together with black and white pebbles attached to them. "This is a Martisor. They use it in Romania to bring good luck in the spring. The black and white pebbles are supposed to represent all the opposites in the world: life and death; dark and light; good and evil... It's not supposed to be like this but Vlad insisted that this would ward off bad spirits."

"Obviously doesn't work," muttered Gilbert. Arthur shot him a stern look before he turned his attention to Lukas's little stone.

"Lukas carved a magic circle into this stone." Arthur angled the stone so that everyone could see the glowing lines. There were four points to it, lines crossing them at specific points. In the middle, a smaller version of the circle attached itself to the outer lines. "It's meant to protect against evil, as well," Arthur told them before setting them down.

"What," said Gilbert, "and you're telling us _that's_ why its glowing."

"Well," Arthur reasoned, "if evil interacted with it and this sort of thing actually works, maybe the things in this house activated them, in a way? They've left their touch on it and the amulets are protesting."

"Did you bring something, too, Arthur?" asked Francis, tilting his head slightly.

Arthur shrugged. "I brought something considered... 'magic', but it doesn't protect me against anything." He reached into his pocket to pull out his Tarot cards. "They just-" But he broke off as he stared down at them.

The cards were glowing, brighter where he touched them.

Nobody moved or said anything. They only stared, wondering what it meant. Had the things in this house touched his precious cargo? Was there a connection between it and the amulets? These had come from both Lukas and Vladimir – had they done something to these, too? And what should he do with them now that they were tainted, if they were at all?

"Are..." started Alfred. "Are the cards trying to protect you, too?"

"They can't be," said Arthur, slowly. "That's not what they're for."

" _They're for predicting the future, aren't they_?" said Lili.

"Not exactly. They're more... a guide. You have a question in mind and it'll help you reach a decision."

"So..." said Alfred, frowning deeply. "Could we ask them what we should do now?"

"I... suppose we could," Arthur agreed, though he felt a great sense of unease. What if the cards suggested they get out? What if they said to leave Lukas and Vladimir behind? But it was better than nothing... "Just... Don't interrupt me – unless something bad is happening."

Quickly, he shuffled the cards, the glow seeming to increase as he breathed deeply, focussing. He pushed aside all his fears, all the unnecessary thoughts, his other senses, so that he could ignore any whispering or movements. Cards moved between his fingers and he watched his hands going through the motions. It helped him to concentrate, to focus on the question: what should we do now?

Gently, he placed the deck of cards on the island in front of him. Then he placed his left hand on top of them – and something changed. It was a strange feeling, as if nothing mattered but the cards. He was only a conduit for their suggestions, for their voice. Somehow, he felt as if he was watching himself from across the room yet, at the same time, he was definitely within his body, cutting the cards and placing the top stack to the left.

For half a second, he worried that the things in the house were affecting him, controlling his body while he tried to return to it. He quickly realised that whatever this feeling was, it was light, airy, _safe_. It felt as if it came from within him and, as he placed his hand on the cards to his left, he relaxed a little, letting this energy take over.

Then he flipped the card and placed it on his left, saying, "The past."

Arthur could sense everyone leaning in on his peripherals but he didn't move his gaze from the card. There, for everyone to see, was a stern-looking angel glaring down from the sky. A trumpet was pressed to his lips and he was pointing it down. Below him, looking pitiful, were three thin humans, looking rather malnourished. They also looked terrified, cowering before this intimidating creature.

"Judgement," Arthur intoned, unable to keep himself from making his voice low. It sounded ominous in the silence, far too loud for the small space. But he felt he should explain what the card meant so he continued. "A warning about jumping to conclusions."

"Dude," he heard Alfred say, "can you... maybe not talk like that? It's creeping me out!"

Instead of listening to him, Arthur turned the next card, feeling that energy thrum again. "The present," he said and laid it gently down beside the Judgement card.

This time, the ominous atmosphere was not just from Arthur's changed voice. The card sitting before him was The Devil, though it was upside down. It still looked quite frightening with the goat-like devil seated on his throne, a naked man and woman chained to it. Murmuring swept around the room, filling it with voices, much like the ones Arthur always heard in these places. "The Reversed Devil," he declared, silencing them all in an instant. "A suggestion to look deeper at the situation – it may not be as bad as they seem and things can take a turn."

"'Not as bad as they seem'," Mei repeated, sounding incredulous.

Again, Arthur ignored the interruption and reached out for the next card. This time, that strange energy or feeling or whatever it was thrummed within him, a constant thing. His cards' glowing pulsed in response to it, ebbing and flowing, calling forth the correct one. It worried Arthur; maybe this thing was bad, would hurt him when he touched it. But his body seemed outwith his control and he plucked the final card from the pile.

"The future," he said as he laid it down next to them.

Everyone recoiled from this one. All of them cried out. Arthur was the only one who couldn't as he stared down at the figure depicted there. Atop a white steed, black cloak covering most of his body, scythe in hand, sat a skeletal figure. Its grin was mocking and it held the scythe ready to strike, to remove its obstacles. Arthur was unable to stop himself from finishing the reading, to stop himself from speaking.

"Death. Tells of transformation and change to come, not necessarily death."

As soon as he finished speaking, Arthur felt that strange energy abruptly recede. Somehow, he knew it was still within him but it left so suddenly that he gasped, able to breathe and control his actions better. He slumped forward, eyes staring down at the Death card. It was true that it meant change and transformation but, in this place, it could just as easily mean what it said on the tin.

"We're all going to die," Mei said, bluntly. Her eyes were wide with panic but she was utterly still, as if a sense of calm had descended upon her.

"N-No, we're not," said Alfred hastily, as he hurried to Arthur's side. "Are you okay?" he asked Arthur.

"I..." Arthur trailed off and shook his head, unable to comprehend the strange mess of emotions within him. He was frightened, of course, steeped in dread. Angry, too, incensed at the threat of more attacks from the creatures. But something seemed to have unlocked with the Tarot reading and he felt a little better, a little happier, excited even. Those emotions felt so foreign after the past few days that he wasn't sure if the things were toying with him again or if it was a response to... whatever had just happened.

And he was cautious: whatever the glowing cards meant, whatever had compelled him to continue in his trance, could push his friends to act against him. They might think him a threat, think he was being possessed. Arthur didn't know what to do but he certainly couldn't alleviate any fears the others now had about their success.

"What did you ask them?" Ludwig inquired, pale but otherwise not visibly shaken.

"Oh," said Arthur, blinking down at the Judgement card. Was this their own personal hell? Were the creatures actually demons? "I asked them what we should do now."

"Then this didn't help," Vash declared. "Dying is not an option."

"I _told_ you," Arthur responded, "it's not meant to signify death."

" _What did they mean_ ," Lili asked, " _about not jumping to conclusions? Does that mean we think they're bad... but they're not_?"

"Don't be silly," said Vash. "It probably means that they know what _we_ think they are but we're wrong. So they're not vengeful spirits."

"I've believed they were demons, of a sort," Francis admitted. "Ever since..." he tried to elaborate but he trailed off, glancing between Alfred and Arthur.

"There are... other beings they could be," Arthur murmured. "But I'm not sure which. Kiku? Have you translated the book yet?"

" _I've managed to read some of it but a lot of the kanji has become smudged_ ," he replied. He sounded confused and worried. " _But the words which come up most often are yosei and yokai_."

"What does that mean?"

" _It covers a large range of things. Yosei... means 'fairy', I suppose, but they are generally harmless. Yokai covers a large range of things, including spirits and demons. As far as I can tell, the passage is about comparing the two. I'm not sure if that actually helps_..."

Alfred threw his arms in the air. "That could be anything!"

"And it can't be just Japanese," Francis pointed out. "Not if it happened in England and America, too."

"You researched the house before we came here, right?" Vash said.

" _Yes_ ," Kiku replied. " _There were no untoward deaths before the creatures appeared. Or, at least, none on the police records_."

"How far do the records go back?" Gilbert piped up. "Maybe something happened before everything was written down?"

" _I did check that. But there was nothing here before 1843 – just a flat plain of land_."

"The house in America had a mound on the land," Arthur said as he remembered what they'd found.

"What about the house in England?" Alfred asked.

"No idea," said Arthur with a shrug.

"Do you think this house is built on something?" Mei asked. "Something that was under the ground?"

"Which," said Francis slowly, "would be dug up if anyone were to create a basement..."

Silence fell as they considered it, Arthur feeling a subtle panic rise within him. If that were the case then both times he had ended up in the basement, especially the time they had dragged him back, he had been so close to them, so close to disappearing forever. He doubted he would have seen the sun again.

"But there's no basement here. So it's okay," Alfred said, his voice a little strained, his arms folded and rubbing his arms. He still couldn't suppress his shivers and Arthur was sure everyone saw him.

They took solace in that, quietly contemplating their situation. Arthur thought about what they should do if there _was_ a basement. Probably go through the door and down the stairs to investigate.

As soon as he'd thought that, something that had been niggling at the back of his mind, forgotten in favour of recent events, pushed itself to the forefront.

Dread filled him. He wondered if he should say anything. But there was nothing else they could do and they needed to find the things terrorising them.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I think there _might_ be a basement. Or a cellar..."

"What?" said Vash, frowning at him.

"The door we've not been through," Arthur said, keeping his eyes on the Judgement card. Was this what that card was talking about? "I thought it might be a basement. But no-one mentioned it and I... forgot about it?" Now that he was remembering, however, he realised that it might have been more than just forgetting. It was almost as if he'd been forced to ignore it.

When he looked up, everyone was looking at him in confusion. Kiku was the one to voice it. " _What door_?"

"The one beside the stairs," Arthur answered, bewildered now as well.

"But... there's none there," Alfred said. "I checked the hall before we split up the first time.

Arthur stared at them, frowning. "But I was sure..." He shook his head. "Maybe I was just seeing things."

A short pause. Then Mei piped up. "There _is_ one way to find out."

"How?" Francis asked her.

"We could go and look right now."

Everyone looked at each other. By unspoken agreement, they turned and exited the kitchen, still being cautious. Arthur remembered to grab a lantern at the last moment and ended up at the back of the group, Gilbert standing beside him. They all moved cautiously. Those outside didn't speak. Passing the foot of the stairs, they suddenly stopped as Alfred and Mei, at the head of the group this time, came to an abrupt halt.

"There _is_ a door," Alfred said quietly, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

" _But there was none there when I went in_ ," Kiku insisted.

"Maybe it was hidden," Gilbert suggested. "Maybe only certain people could see it. Maybe..." He paused until the group was looking at him expectantly. "Maybe Vladimir and Lukas wandered down there."

"They didn't walk away from us," Arthur told him, firmly.

"Are you sure?" Gilbert asked. "Maybe they dropped those amulets and whatever on purpose. Maybe they were the ones to rip off their heart monitors."

"Why on Earth would they do that?"

" _I_ don't know. But there's a lot of odd things going on in here."

Shaking his head, Arthur gestured at the house around them. "There's... There's this feeling. These houses, they're just the same as that cave and that clearing they talked about. They're terrifying to us. Something isn't right here and we can feel that. They wouldn't have left us."

"Something happened to them," said Vash. "And we need to find out what."

"Then let's go," said Mei, marching towards the new door.

"Wait-" Ludwig began but, again, she didn't listen to them.

Without waiting for them to catch up, she grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Nothing happened for a few seconds and they all relaxed. Francis opened his mouth, probably to ask what Mei could see. Then there was a swishing, slicing noise, a whoosh of air and a thud as Mei collapsed. It was followed by a hollow rattling sort of sound as she rolled down the stairs beyond. Then there was movement in the middle of the group; Arthur gasped and jumped back just as another thud drew everyone's eyes to the floor.

Something round like a football lay there. Strands of hair looped their way across the floor, reaching for each of them in a silent plea for help. The little, pink flower attached to it slipped to the side.

Nobody moved: Arthur didn't think any of them were capable of doing anything but stare at Mei's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Tarot card meanings are from [here](http://www.psychic-revelation.com/reference/q_t/tarot/tarot_cards/) and are probably slightly different for each reading. Trying to make ominous Tarot readings is actually flipping hard.
> 
> Also, the [Martisor](http://www.frua.org/countriesandculture/balkan-and-romany-spring-traditions) uses red and white string to depict love and seems to be sort of like Valentine's Day?
> 
> And... I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to write another chapter by Halloween since I'm also trying to finish a request before November, too. I'm gonna try but I'm busy this weekend and the start of next week so I have less time to write... So this may be the last chapter till next year - or until I finish the next one I'm starting.


End file.
